Greetings again,
    Thank you all very much for your responses. Since one of the posts on this thread argued that I should be able to come up with this myself, I am in the process of compiling a definition of traditional music as it relates to Irish traditional music, a focal point of my research. As I am concerned with primarily instrumental music as opposed to vocal song, hairs must be split a bit more finer than in a discussion of the broader designation of folk music, but there is of course a close relationship. I would like to share my preliminary findings.
    At present, I am using as a basis for my definition the following statement from the International Folk Music Council in 1954:
    "Folk music is the product of a musical tradition that has       been evolved through the process of oral transmission. The factors that shape the tradition are (i) continuity which links the
present with the past; (ii) variation which springs from the individual or the group; (iii)selection by the community, which determine the form or forms in which the music survives." (My apologies as I am unable to block this appropriately).
      I have added that to create a working definition, it should be said that music passed from generation to generation, altered and adapted by subsequent generations, rather than a static antiquarian approach are part of a tradition. Opinions will of course differ. A sense of collective ownership by the practicing community, illustrated by the fact that composers are largely unknown or anonymous, is another component. Traditions should be old, but age is relative. To an American, a century is perhaps a long time. To citizens of other, older nations, it is a drop in the bucket. Thus, a tradition should be "old" according to the standards of its practicing community.
    That's the start of it. I would like this definition to be inclusive as opposed to exclusive, and will continue to alter and add until my research is concluded. Thank you all again for your responses.
    -Mike Nicholsen