I'll simplify it further: classical music features musicians having sheet music and music stands, maybe even a conductor. Folk music doesn't. I think the irony

I'll simplify it further: classical music features musicians having sheet music and music stands, maybe even a conductor. Folk music doesn't. I think the irony here is you don't think that's a very useful distinction, which I think is what the article is getting at: even with this definition of classical music you may feel you don't know what classical music actually is. The whole distinction isn't that it's a kind of music, it's a process for creating, scoring, and playing music. Meaning from a pure music standpoint, there really isn't a distinction at all.