Ron & Nerd,
Yes, I tend to do research about the songs I am learning, and I have been a history nut all of my life, so learning about the societies that gave birth to the songs I love is a joy to me. I love learning about the old songs, and hearing the old recordings of them. I agree that it adds depth to the understanding of the music. It's just that none of this has much effect on the way I play music, or what I enjoy when I listen to music. Which is not to say that I don't try to find the meaning in the music, or that I don't honor the old traditions. This is one reason that I like rock versions of trad music better than jazz versions. Rock music tends toward open chords, straghtforward rhythms, and diatonic or even hexatonic scales. Jazz usually involves more complex chords, "sophisticated" rhythmic patterns, and lots of chromaticism. My personal opinion is the more basic sound of rock music fits better with the older and often diatonic folk melodies.

When I said that the only criterion is whether or not it sounds good, I was indicating that I think music appreciation is a very subjective thing. Lots of people like lots of things I don't (just look at the popularity of bluegrass), and I think that diversity of opinion is great. Even though I speak forcefully in favor of a progressive and changing tradition, some of my favorite music to listen to is extremely conservationist renderings of trad music. This liking of both sides of that coin has been a bit unfortunate for my musical success in that the rockers find me terribly traditional, and the hard-core traditionalists think I am too modern sounding.

I also strongly feel that an important part of the definition of traditional music is that it is local music. This leads me to the conclusion that learning everything there is to know about a musical tradition from somewhere else and then carefully applying that knowledge to your playing is leaving traditional music making and going more toward ethnomusicology. I live in Seattle. I play Seattle tunes. The fact that the tunes started life in Ireland, or France, or England doesn't mean they aren't Seattle tunes now. Or that playing them in a Seattle style instead of an Irish or French or English style makes them become untraditional.

But most stongly I feel that everyone should play the music they are called to play in the way they are called to play it. Even if I don't are for it.

John Peekstok