Ferrara's note got me thinking. (Uh Oh!)

I am at an old time music concert. The fiddler says he's gonna play Sally Ann. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the tune I heard sounded nothing like any of the other Sally Anns (note the plural) I am familiar with. What I would ask after the concert is "Whose Sally Ann was that?" The point is that as an old time musician I have a high comfort level with diversity.

I am at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert. The program says "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony." I am following with my score. I would be astounded to hear several measures of notes not in my score. What I would ask after the concert is "Where the hell did those come from?" The point is that as a classical musician I have a very low comfort level with diversity.

"Folk" musicians seem to fall somewhere between old time musicians and classical musicians in terms of their comfort level with diversity. I do an idiosyncratic version of Bill Staines' "Roseville Fair" that I learned orally/aurally and NOT from Bill himself. I have been told more than once that I am doing it wrong. But I have also been able to get away with it more than once.

In none of these case are my expectations the result of my personal choice. My expectations have been molded by my participation in a musical community.