One traditional singer (i.e. not a classical opera singer, right?) - and I wish I could remember which one - said something like, "I know the difference between traditional music and any other kind of music. It's as clear to me as the difference between night and day, and just because I can't tell you exactly where one ends and the other begins, it doesn't follow that they're both the same." In other words, we're talking about a distinctive and recognisable genre of music, even if any attempted definition is a bit flaky for some purposes. Other genres of music (jazz, swing, rock)are just as hard to define precisely, but equally distinctive. Can't we just move on and talk about traditional music without someone invoking the mythical "folk police" and declaring that it's impossible to discuss this music because no one knows what it is?

A much more interesting, and less contentious, line of inquiry is the difference, mentioned by Jerry above, between US and UK interpretations of the term "traditional" music, as demonstrated in his original post at the top. I think, for one thing, we're looking at, one one hand, a young country where anything "traditional" may be relatively recent, and on the other, an old country where the traditions stretch back over many centuries.

Marje