MtheGM talked of feeling comfortable with a ballad - which is exactly what Gordeanna McCulloch and I were trying to do today in the third of our ballad workshops. We chose a ballad which we haven't heard sung up here in Glasgow and which neither of us knew - 'Jamie Douglas' (Child no.204).
There is a great historical backstory and a connection to the earlier 'Waly Waly' (source of many of the most-recognised floating verses -"I wish, I wish etc."). But all 20 participants plus the two of us struggled with the chosen tune, wanting to push it in another direction for the final line. And there was much agonising over quite a few of the verses, which lacked sufficient syllables to sit 'comfortably' on the tune.
The final consensus was that we should give each other permission to make sensitive adjustments according to our own taste and with acknowledgement of ballad style. And all the participants were well aware that we would probably end up with 22 subtly different versions.
If this encourages singers to think about ballads before tackling them in performance, then it may be worth pursuing - and there seems to be a desire from those in attendance to continue. So, watch this space!