My wife was taught music the old-fashioned way .... which means that she was taught to play acording to the set of rules imposed by the sheet music. But no matter how well she can play a piece of music, she cannot improvise. That's right ... she is unable - after all that study, to play what she feels. In other words she cannot think outside of the rules. On the other side of the table is me with my guitar or banjo, and I have been entirely self-taught over the last 30 years, but I taught myself in exactly the opposite way. Sure I had to learn the theory of the fretboard, but as I gathered that knowledge I was set free to experiment. My purpose for learning was because I wanted to express myself and say what I was feeling through my instrument, as opposed to playing what other people had written. As a result, improvisation is my strongest ability.