I was going to say that, Steve. To develop your point, I've taken out a rather fat dictionary, and I find that the first meaning of 'tradition' is "the action of handing over". A bit lower down it says "the delivery, esp. oral delivery, of information or instruction", and still further on it talks about "the act of handing down, from one to another, or from generation to generation".

It's not a dictionary of music, but I think that sums it up pretty well for the present context.