Some very cheering comments here - where were you people when you were needed at some of the clubs I have been bored out of my skull with because I couldn't follow the words?
I was privileged to attend and record a remarkable two-hour talk given by Peggy Seeger back in the late sixties, in my opinion, one of the best and most sensitive accompanists I have listened to, (not counting her present choice of keyboards (sorry Peggy) which, I'm afraid, leaves me cold and are hernia-causing heavy to help transport back to her van, as I learned nearly to my cost when she visited Clare a few years ago)
Peggy describes accompaniment as a background to sing against - you shouldn't notice it, only its absence.
She also said that the first question you should ask about accompaniment is "is it necessary" and "if you notice it, it's getting in the way".
I have nothing against using instruments in singing - half of my largish repertoire was once accompanied.
I stopped singing regularly about thirty years ago when I moved and my accompanist friend didn't (I don't play an instrument).
Recently I have become a born-again folkie and have revisited my 300+ songs, most of which I find work perfectly unaccompanied, in some cases, better than they ever did.
Happily I have befriended a kindred spirit with a Martin and sensitivity and am gradually breathing new life into all of them - like being young again - now, all I have to do is sort out the sex bit (joking of course Pat!!).
Would very much like to hear a response to my comments on ornamentation - pretty relevant here in the West of Ireland where singing is taking off again after a long hibernation (though I doubt it will ever catch up in my lifetime to the unbelievable rise in popularity being enjoyed among young instrumentalists coming to traditional music for the first time)
Jim Carroll