The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #60042   Message #964799
Posted By: Snuffy
09-Jun-03 - 07:23 PM
Thread Name: Living Tradition and the Revival
Subject: RE: Living Tradition and the Revival
My "earlier discussion about the philosophical differences between ladies singing in a pub or a concert performer appearing on stage" had nothing whatsoever to do with being paid or not.

The point I was trying to make was that traditional singing tends to be spontaneous, whereas revival is always premeditated. It is "shut up and listen" rather than "join in on all the bits you think you know". Revival is done for you (or even to you), tradition is when you do it yourself.

And many people can be both tradition and revival, depending on what and where they're doing it. The Coppers singing at home or in their local pub is carrying on their tradition; when they sing at Carnegie Hall to a huge audience it's something else, which I have called "revival" as a convenient label.