Originally Posted by Bass Thumper
Levitin doesn’t spend a lot of time on music “education” per-se but he does say:

Many of the greatest musicians of our era lacked formal training, including Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell. And in classical music, George Gershwin, Mussorgsky and David Helfgott are among those who lacked formal training, and Beethoven considered his own training to have been poor according to his diaries.
"Greatest musicians" according to what standard?

I think he's conflating "popular" with "greatest".

I recall reading an anecdote by Leonard Bernstein, where his publisher was complaining that no one was leaving his musicals "whistling his tunes", and thus not buying sheet music. So Lenny sat down with his librettist to write a something simple and memorable. At the end of the exercise, he had nothing except a new-found respect for people who created popular music. It's not as easy as it seems.

That said, let's break down that lack of "formal training". Mind, you, I'm relying on AI summaries, so there could be errors, but unlike Letvin, I actually did some research before declaring this group of people lacking in formal training.

All right, on to the AI summaries.

Spoiler Alert: Only Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell had no formal training. As a bonus, there are a number of child prodigies in his list.

Frank Sinatra: He practiced holding a glass of water on his stomach while lying down to master diaphragm control. He also learned to sustain long phrases by observing Dorsey's trombone playing. To build stamina for singing, Sinatra used to swim, often trying to swim the length of a pool on one breath. Early in his career, he worked with coach John Quinlan to improve his range and eliminate his Hoboken accent, which led to a co-authored book, "Tips on Popular Singing". He spent years on the road with big bands, learning how to phrase, use a microphone, and interpret lyrics.

Louis Armstrong: His musical training was primarily informal, rooted in the streets of New Orleans, but solidified by early formal training at the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, where he learned the cornet and music reading from instructor Peter Davis. He developed his skills through mentorship with King Oliver, street corner singing, playing on riverboats, and absorbing the local jazz, blues, and brass band scene.

John Coltrane: His training was a blend of early formal music education, rigorous self-teaching, and extensive "on-the-job" training in jazz, R&B, and big bands. He studied theory at Philadelphia's Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. His formative years involved playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk, where he mastered complex harmonic structures

Eric Clapton: He was primarily a self-taught guitarist who developed his skills by ear, obsessively listening to and emulating Delta blues artists like Robert Johnson, as well as modern bluesmen like Freddie King and Buddy Guy. He practiced for hours daily, using a reel-to-reel recorder to analyze his playing.

Eddie Van Halen: His primary formal training was in classical piano, which he studied for roughly 10 years from age six, developing a strong sense of music theory, dexterity, and, notably, the ability to play by ear rather than reading sheet music. He did not take formal guitar lessons, instead teaching himself by listening to records and practicing intensely for hours daily.

Stevie Wonder: He is primarily a self-taught musical prodigy who mastered piano, harmonica, and drums before age 10. His formal training included studying classical piano, music theory, and learning to read/write music using Braille. He later received vocal training from renowned coach Seth Riggs, starting around age 19.

Joni Mitchell: She was largely a self-taught musician, driven by intuition and a desire to avoid conventional styles, rather than formal music training. Her artistic education included roughly a year studying art in Alberta, but she primarily trained herself on ukulele, guitar, and, after polio weakened her hand, innovative, self-devised alternative tunings.

George Gershwin: His musical training was a blend of limited formal piano instruction, hands-on experience as a Tin Pan Alley "song plugger", and intensive private study of harmony, theory, and orchestration with various mentors throughout his life. He was largely self-taught in composition early on, learning through imitation and practice before studying with teachers like Charles Hambitzer (piano) and Henry Cowell.

Modest Mussorgsky He had limited formal musical training, relying primarily on piano lessons from his mother and later Anton Gerke. His mother taught him piano from age six, and he was an exceptionally skilled pianist from a young age. This was followed by informal composition guidance from Mily Balakirev starting in 1857, who provided guidance in musical composition and exposed him to Western composers like Berlioz, Liszt, and Schumann. He was largely self-taught in composition, focusing on developing a unique, nationalistic style rather than traditional Western techniques.

David Helfgott He received training as a child prodigy in Australia by local teachers in Perth, including composer James Penberthy. At age 17, he began studying with Alice Carrard, a former student of Béla Bartók and István Thomán. He secured a scholarship to the prestigious Royal College of Music in London at age 19, studying under renowned pianist Cyril Smith, who described him as a brilliant talent comparable to Horowitz. His training focused on classical repertoire, specifically Rachmaninoff, and he won several awards at the RCM, including the Dannreuther Prize.

-- David Cuny

My virtual singer development blog
Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

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