You hear the term professionally-trained musician a lot. But what does it mean?
Does it mean trained by a professional?
Does it mean trained with the goal of becoming a professional?
And what would that make an unprofessionally-trained musician?
There are plenty of professionally-trained musicians who are unprofessional. And who can neither play nor teach well.
And what of the proficient musician who was trained by a professional but doesn't perform for money? Is that person a professionally-trained musician?
Music is music. Professional can mean whatever you want it to mean. But let's not blindly put our trust in the terminology.
Because if we're not careful, it can send us down the wrong path.