Jack Campin said:

"If you actually understood the history of this music you'd know that Cecil Sharp never suggested any chords."

I was joking. Shall I edit it and say Dave Mallison instead?

Jack Campin also said:

"If you don't care how folk music came to me - don't give a damn which tunes were meant to be danced to... how on earth can you expect to know anything about what the tune expresses?"

I agree with this when it comes to songs, but also if a song is well written it should tell you everything you need to know in the lyrics. There may be times when I may do some research into archaic words but most of the time the story is there.

Tune wise, I dont think knowing the title and its history will really help me 'express'. I think the way you interpret it is more important than its history.

As for telling me to learn my modes, I have.(I've also learnt how to play simple chord structures over folk melodies thankyou Sugarfoot Jack) I've been playing jazz since I was 8, played in big bands, quintets, even tried a bit of bebop, and then recently taken up folk. I do agree with you about successful fusions of jazz and folk though, its few and far between and something I'll be looking into.

Sugarfoot Jack said:

"All art also has a context, and much folk music is played in sessions where many of the people...find.. a load of jazzy chords...at worse downright disrespectful. Of course, in a group anything goes."

At no point have I suggested everyone should go out and play jazz chords over folk melodies. I only offered my opinion of what was possible (after a long stream of messages saying ignore the minor or major 3rds!)also I'd like you to tell me how playing 'jazzy' chords is disrespecting another musician? then you say 'in a group anything goes' um, What have we been talking about then?

Sugarfoot Jack also said:

"This is a tradition, and it's past is bloody important....How can you understand the music you play if you don't have some idea of where it's come from?"

What does that even mean? do I need to know how the harmonic series works to play a Gmajor chord? Do I need to know the difference between mean temperament and equal temperament to play music after the 18th century? NO. I dont. Music is just sound, its not a tradition, its just clever noises. Real folk musicians (e.g a builder who knows an old song that his grandad used to sing and belts it out in a pub after the rugby) doesn't give a damn about 'the tradition'.

Again, we digress gentlemen. We're not here to talk about the tradition.We're here to talk about how you can play along to a folk melody with other people.

As we're not getting anywhere and you guys are intent on being condascending to my attitudes I bid you farewell. I just wanted to talk to like minded people, instead I've been met by nazi like attitudes towards folk music.