I learn a song as it was written. If it is a song with some age on it like The Golden Vanity I learn a version I like. As time goes along and I am singing the song the nuances that make a song sound like me begin to appear and after awhile they are always there.

I can't imagine doing a song by just getting the flavor of it and then doing it out. Obviously my taste may be different. This is my prime bitch about a lot of rocked up trad tunes that are now the mainstays of the Celtic Rock trend going on. The melody to "Tell My Ma" is sparse enough but I usually hear it reduced to three notes and sung by a boozer with no voice to begin with.

I think this shows a lack of respect for the song, lyrics and melody.

This has nothing to do with arranging a piece of music to suit your style. I will English up a dialect to suit the needs of my audience. But I won't turn it into white bread either. Thats the job of Pat Boone. And I won't reduce a song to mono tones and a pulsing rhythym either. Thats just laziness.

There is a fine line here where this conversation can go from constructive to a fist fight I imagine and I hope not to cross it.


Don