For probably 500 years, "folk" musicians were people who played a limmited number of instruments in an almost certainly primitive and untutored way. This did not prevent them from becoming adept at playing their instruments---quite the reverse !! But they played as people who had received no structured, professional,theory based training.There was no Folk-music degree course at any university.There was little knowledge about, or understanding of " World music ", or different types of scale,or odd time signatures, assuming that the term was known.They evolved their own mystique, their own playing techniques,their own vocabulary,their own following, their own hierarchy even. They gave us a kind of music that sounds recognisably different when played by virtually anyone who has had any sort of proper musical training,because they always play in a "non-folk" way !! Time and again,I have heard classical violinists play traditional English pieces , and none of them ever sound as good ( or, paradoxically, as bad ! ) as fiddler Ted Davis from Watford !! I cannot imagine anything worse than playing in a session with James Galway and Nigel Kennedy, not because they can"t play ---They most Certainly CAN !! BUT----not like folk musicians !! Does nobody see my point ??