>> "It's true that an instrument helps the singer to stay in the right key throughout the song" is only true if one is able to tune and play the instrument in question<<

Moorleyman, just to be clear: I can only take the credit for the remark in quotes. It was Charley Noble who added the rest. I merely said I couldn't argue with his addition. I don't want to take credit for Charley's thoughts.

I stand by that assessment of Charley's additional comment.

Yes, and that applies too if the instrument in question is the voice itself doesn't it? There's no disgrace in an unaccompanied singer taking his/her pitch from (say) a concertina before starting the song, and neither does that need make him/her a "bad performer", any more than it makes an accompanied singer who's reliant on an instrument a "bad performer".

Just after my original quote above, McGrath of Harlow said: "Often enough I'll use the guitar to get me singing in the right key, the one I've found works for the song, and then I'll put it down to sing the rest of the song."

I agree with that, and it's what I do too, if I sing unaccompanied and I have my guitar with me. It helps me to start in the right key.

As you rightly say, there's no disgrace. I've never thought there was. I simply pluck the appropriate note and off I go, confident in the knowledge I've started in the right key. The idea of it being somehow cheating or shameful to do this has never occurred to me. I've seen some unaccompanied singers use pitch pipes for the same purpose. Maybe there are a few 'hardcore traddies' around who would frown on this as somehow 'cheating', but I've never encountered any (so far! Maybe One of them will reply to this!)

What I said at the top of this post, referred to the fact that an unaccompanied singer can gradually drift off key, especially during a long song. Having some sort of instrumental accompaniment prevents this happening, which was my point.

Charley then pointed out that it was important to ensure you are able to tune and play the instrument in question, in order to accompany yourself when singing. I have to agree, as not being able to do these things would clearly preclude successful accompaniment of the singer.

I hope that clarifies things so far!