Hi Folks,

I'm new here, so please excuse me if this question has already been answered where I couldn't find it.

I'm a Celtic harper, about to burn my first CD after years of telling people that I'll get one out soon and of course I'll let them know when they can buy it.

...and I'll be contacting the copyright holders for the vocals that I mean to do, and paying the going rate to the right people...

...but a lot of what I play is really, rally old - like 16th Century old. I realize that, say, Turlough O'Carolan's melody lines are public domain and if I start with one of those, whatever I arrange is safe for recording and sale of those recordings.

But my question is for a different situation. Take, for example, my arrangement of Carolan's Quarrel with the Landlady. I started with an arrangement that I bought in a book. It turns out that the first two measures are just fine. I kept those. But measures three though eight are as dull as dishwater. They had to go, and I replaced them with some that have a little more life. The next four were fine - keep 'em - the next eight were sparkless so I replaced them, and so on for the rest of the piece.

By now you have anticipated my question: at what point does that become my arrangement? And if any part of it still belongs to anyone else, what must I do to keep right with karma and copyright law? I mean, there's a finite amount of things that can be done with, say, Carolan tunes.

I'd appreciate the advice of those senior to me in the recording-of-trad biz.

Thanks,
Darren