Much of the discussion about the folk "process" and the "tradition" on this forum is centered around songs and singers. There's an interesting and much looser perspective - as I've said before - when discussion centres on the process and tradition regarding tunes. I thought I'd mention an interesting example of how even a fairly modern tune in the folk idiom can subtly change form. The example I'm thinking of is a tune written by Cape Breton composer Joan MacDonald Boes in 1987 called "The Sweetness Of Mary".

The tune, as written, is in the key of A. The thematic structure is not quite the usual A-A-B-B found in many tunes in the folk idiom, but A-A-B-B-B-A - where A and B parts are 4 bars long. You might say: that's it - this modern tune was written 22 years ago; the dots are available in fiddle books, and that's how you play it. However, that's not quite the end of the story.

It's accepted in many fiddle circles that the definitive version of "The Sweetness Of Mary" is the one played by the great - and recently late - Cape Breton fiddler Jerry Holland. You can hear a wonderful version of it here. Jerry actually plays a more straightforward A-A-A-A-B-B-B-B, and not the version as written, but he plays it in the written key of A (a favourite key of Cape Breton fiddlers).

Now - go to TheSession.org and do a search on the tune. There it is, in abc format - also as A-A-A-A-B-B-B-B - in the key of G. Is this because some fiddlers find moving out of first position a little too difficult? No matter - there it is in a different format and a different key from the original.

No go to the Lewes Favourites tunebook - tunes as played in this part of Sussex. Their version is here. The structure is A-A-A-A-B-B-B-B - and the key is D. The ceilidh band I play in - based in Sussex - also play it in D, but with an A-A-A-A-B-B-B-A structure!

I like to play it myself on fiddle and tenor guitar as written, as it happens - but I don't think I'd get very far in a local session if I did.

I'm not making any critical comparisons of the different versions of "The Sweetness Of Mary" here - merely making the point that even a fairly recent tune composition, in "folk" terms, can become part of a subtle process of change depending on geography and inclination.