Richard: When I said that contemporary folk relied more heavily on strong chord sequences, I didn't mean to imply that there are no chords in traditional song. There is always an implied harmonic structure, and one of the delights of hearing a good unaccompanied singer is appreciating the way he/she indicates this structure by subtle inflections in the intonation of the singing.

Will Fly: yes, you have a good point there - I think maybe it's the performance of traditional song that is vulnerable rather than the songs themselves. As you imply, the selective "folk process " has often created songs that are enduring, flexible and hard-wearing. But I suppose it's difficlut to separate the two: the songs are unlikely to stay alive and evolve if the social contexts in which they are sung are threatened, or taken over by other forms of music. If the songs were to survive only in printed form or on archive recordings, and no one knew how to sing or even to listen to them, we'd have lost something very precious.

Marje