Mick, how often in a session have you heard someone say give us a set of reels (or whatever) and the response has been someone getting up to dance a reel of 3 (or something)? never? because that's not what was meant, they meant The Tune. I may be young but I have been playing most of my life and have inherited it directly form family and friends.

Don't make out like you somehow are passing on the torch to me. I don't believe I have even heard you play, so can't have been influenced by you. Mine and your traditions may coexist but are almost entirely independent.

Plenty of specialist terms are not found in general dictionary. These are some of them. Reels and Jigs aren't words I've learnt from books, they are everyday terms that I use (funnily enough) on a daily basis. Maybe this is why I am confident in my defintion. Are you a tune player Mick? I'm thinking not.

I will admit that I have been a bit inflamatory on here but that was only in response to a thread that was basically saying the thing that I enjoy doing is somehow ruining it for everyone.

Short answer - No.

No - it's not ruining it overall.

Yes - of course no one should ever speed up a set started by someone else. That's beginner level etiquete. Any good player that breaks it would only do so if there are more underlying reasons.

Yes - variety in tunes is good. But that doesn't mean a fast set played poorly followed by a slow set played poorly.

Yes - all tunes sound the same. (sort of) Although if the players are good and it still sounds the same to you. Then you are out of your depth. Learn the tunes being played. Once you've done that you should be able to hear the differences at at last.

Sometines we play for people that can't hear the tune for the ornamentation, however most enjoyment is gleaned from playing tunes with people that can appreciate the subtleties that distinguish a great player from a good one, not trying to educate the masses.

Lilt should always be in the music. If people aren't tapping there feet then somethings probably wrong. The music maybe "dancey" with a strong rhythm but not at a speed you can dance a convoluted step dance to.