Tune traditions are kept alive by a mixture of literate and illiterate musicians, IMO, and always have been. Yes, we're playing tunes that are hundreds of years old in some cases, but how do we know that? Because researchers have found early versions of them in MSS and early publications, that's why.

The concept of the illiterate peasant music confined to a small area is a badly outdated one. In some areas of the country, education was far better than others, and here the intelligent working man (or woman, come to that, though I think there were less) was quite likely to be able to read music a bit - if s/he was that way inclined. Musicians, and tunes, got around - one way or another. Not as fast as today, maybe, but they did it.

As to modern tunes, someone above wrote "any fool can compose a traditional tune" (or words to that effect, I can't find the exact quote). Well actually no and yes, because it is only the good tunes that are taken up by other musicians, shared and passed into the tradition. It's considered by some an honour locally if your tune passes into the tradition and "loses" its attribution!

Think of Margaret's Waltz written by Pat Shuldham-Shaw (for Margaret Grant, I think - that bit may be wrong). I understand that Aly Bain learnt it in Texas, brought it back to Shetland thinking it was an American waltz, and it's all over the place now. But I would hazard a guess that most players would say "who?" when told the composer.

The collectors and publishers of tunes also influence the tradition. Peter Kennedy's Fiddle Tunes books were seminal in this respect.
I'm partly responsible for the continued publication of a series of books regarded by some as "authoritative" versions of local tunes - that's a hell of a responsibility - and one that keeps me constantly researching & reviewing.

Cries of "you're not playing what's written here" are heard regularly from classically or other musically highly trained players who haven't yet learnt that trad. tunes evolve, acquire dialects according to where they're played / heard, vary their details according to the instrument played and so forth. The version on XXX's latest CD is never the "only" or "right" one.

Aside: a question for folk degree students final exam - discuss the concept of "right" in traditional music.

In addition to the traditional material, I have a list of some 50 living composers in my genre, some of whose works deserve publication, either as tune composition winners or by absorption into the local sessions.
I also know of quite a lot of tunes, some already published by the composers, which should have been recycled at birth. Any fool may be able to write what they think is a trad tune, but it's likely to be mediocre at best unless they've well listened to their elders / betters in whatever genre.

Billy Pigg was also mentioned above. Wayward genius he was - but he had a very solid grounding in the techniques and sound of his instrument for over 20 years before he wrote his earliest tune (probably Archie's Fancy) in about 1954. Recordings of him were made when he was already a very ill man - they do not always do him justice, and it was suggested by a few other players that he was unable to play "properly".
However he was not very musically literate and the few MSS of his tunes that exist, do not reflect what he played, particularly in the case of one of his most well-played tunes "The Old Drove Road". Those of which there are several recordings are not consistent either - a nightmare when editing a book of his tunes & repertoire.

Rant over - it's nice to have a thread on tunes, though.

Paws