I live and play old time music in Northwest North Carolina, just 45 minutes from Mount Airy.. Around here, if a tune has words, more than likely someone will sing them at least once through the tune. In fact, some jams will have really boisterous singers and it really adds alot to the tunes. Maybe it is more common to sing down here in the heart of oldtime than other areas of the country. What i like about it is you don't have to be a great singer to belt out the words to "Sally Ann" or some other good tune....