I am probably being very naive in creating this thread but from talking to many of my folkie friends I am still confused about what many call "Traditional" folk music.

What exactly is meant by " Traditional " ?

The dictionary says this is the passing and handing down of an established practice or custom.

So it means feeding off and replicating the past. Or does it ?

Does it just mean then that all we can do is unlock and replicate past occurances and forever stay locked in a sort of time warp and never dare to stamp our presence on the present and the future?

I know this is all starting to sound a bit philisophical but please bear with me.

There are many examples of song writers today that write songs that sound kind of traditional ( often with reference to maidens, being at sea, down the mines, farming, protest songs etc etc )

But what about this century? The time we are in now.
If we don't write songs about this age what will our ancestors learn about how we lived now ?

You can't be fixated by the past. We have to move on.

The challenge therefore is to invite much more creativity in todays folk music not to try to copy the ghosts of the past but to express our hopes and observations of the future.

Todays young and up and coming artists are confused about what they are supposed to do. Let's help them by saying just do your own thing.

Because todays observations will become history and will become the new traditions of the future.