The purpose of this article is to analyse three case study examples of musical "folkbildning" in Sweden. The first case study is from the establishment of the state-funded Framnas Folk High Music School in the middle of the last century. The second case study, Hagstrom's music education, is from the same time but describes a music school run by a private company. The third case study concerns a contemporary expression of "folkbildning," namely hip-hop. The theoretical framework that inspired this article stems from the work of Pierre Bourdieu. The double feature of "folkbildning" appears in terms of: elitist and democratic tendencies, high and low taste agendas, control and freedom.