Hi there,

Lots of interesting comments in this thread, as always I appreciate the varied perspective that mudcat provides. I really would not term people that disagree with putting tunes in songs as Folk police. They are part of a purist end point, one which I want to respect, or at least know when I am not following their lead.

One of the problems with inserting tunes is that it can be formulaic and predictable. However, anything done to excess can do that. When you turn a song over to the band - a kind of evolution takes place where all the musicians add their touch and "your" song takes on a new form and sometimes a very different flavor. I love that evolution, but I wish I was better at suggesting things that might work well. That is why I have often resorted to insert Tune A into slot B. I really would like to be more sophisticated in the arrangements. Fortunately, I work with a very inspired bunch, so they will probably do whatever, and I can just add ideas to the mix.

I haven't heard anyone out there say... don't do it. What do you think the IrTrad folks will say? I think I will post a similar thread to that list and see what comes up. They approach things from an instrumentalist's point of view and often don't even talk about song issues... but I'll give it a try.

Have a good one and thanks loads, Claire

duplicate post deleted by mudelf ;-)