I've always liked to interpret ballads by attempting to offer an interesting but germane musical accompaniment that doesn't detract from the words and the story. Some traditionalists would not like this. The prefer to have sparse music and melody only enough to carry the story. Since I'm predominantly a musician who loves folk music and ballads, I am not opposed to a tasteful accompaniment even on other instruments that are not considered folk. But as Shakespeare said, "The play's the thing"....I think the story is the thing in ballad singing. Anything that gets in the way is wrong.
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