I started singing a ballad the other night and someone joined in and started singing the same ballad word for word. I had to stop and ask him who was singing - him or me? I happen to think that ballad performances, especially, are very personal in terms of phrasing, pace, ornamentation etc., etc. - and I would never dream of joining in on anyone elses performance.

I also get irritated by chorus singing - particularly 'harmonisers' - all that dreary bellowing - why must everything be slowed down to a horrible dirge?

I also think that people must learn to distinguish between choruses and refrains. Just because a line or phrase repeats isn't, in my opinion, an invitation for the whole audience to jump in and 'harmonise' it! Many ballads have refrains (and NOT choruses) - it's the repitition which can give the ballad an incantatory feel and the spell can be broken by insensitive 'harmonisation'.

I sometimes think that many habitual 'harmonisers' don't actually 'get' folk song. They seem to think that it is about the overall 'sound' (as in much pop or even classical music) whereas folk song is about narrative and melody. If you add too many voices (or instruments) you can lose the story and 'fill in' all of the, often very beautiful intervals, in the tunes.