Ewan and Peggy never at any time suggested using source singers as a guide to singing technique (not English ones anyway) - they were nearly all past their prime and all but a very few were singing from generations-dead traditions - remembering songs which had been remembered for them by their forbears
The best of them brought something to the songs that younger singers could never attain in a thousand years - a natural ability to re-live and understand the essence of the songs they sang - they "wore their songs as someone would put on their favourite old jacket" as someone once put it
Phil Tanner was typical of this - go listen to MacColl's loving description of 'Banks of Sweet Primroses' on 'The Song Carriers, where "this old,old man manages to sound like a young lad going out on a summer's morning looking for love for the first time" (paraphrase)
Sam Larner was the same - every time he sang it sounded like the first time
Walter's quiet but extremely deep understanding of his songs were transmitted with an ease and conference of a veteran, even though he'd only been singing them public for a decade or so.
His understanding of his songs was summed up perfectly by the statement he made after having just sung his long version of Van Dieman's Land - "That's a long old song, but it was a long old journey" - a perfect example of an artist's relationship with the piece of art he had just re-created.

That's the type of thing artists spend a lifetime trying to achieve - people like us, coming to these songs as outsiders, need all the help we can get if we are going to manage it
We need Walter's fond respect for his songs, or Sam Larner's bubbling enthusiasm, or Harry's seething anger when he sang about past injustices - or Phil Tanner's ability to relive his youth through his songs
Peggy Seeger once said Sam Larner had more 'life and vigour in him' than any younger man she'd ever met - that's what he put into his songs - effortlessly
It's all there in the recordings if you care to listen, and, if you can get hold of the few examples of what they had to say about their sings, that's an added bonus

Once you get into the area where the traditions haven't been dead for very long there's much more to be got in the way of technique and function - get hold of Joe Heaney's marathon interview recorded by Ewan and Peggy - a great master talking about how he acquired and how he approached his art.

Our (my) revival was founded on those old singers - sure, they were hard work to begin with, but well worth the effort
They gave us over four decades of pleasure of re-living and sharing these songs
When what they communicated went from the scene, then so did the reason for singing the songs - that's why the present scene now appears to have no future - the love and energy has gone from it

When a handful of dedicated individuals decided to try and turn around the fortunes of Irish music they didn't look for new superstars to do the job, but they enlisted the forces of the few old people who had lived the tradition - Junior Crehan, Joe Ryan, Bobby Casey, Tom Lenihan, Martin Reidy, Eddie Butcher, Mary Ann Carolan, Joe Holmes, The Keanes.... luckily, there were enough of them around to help guarantee a future
Largely, in England, we're stuck with only the recordings - for crying out loud, don't waste what we have - there's a goldmine yet to be tapped

If you don't like or understand these singers, then you don't like or understand our song traditions and you're better off coming to terms with it and going elsewhere for your fix
I honestly believe there are enough people around, including those who have left the scene in despair, to take up these songs and get the same enjoyment we did from them   
Jim Carroll