So, it seems from what people have chimed that a particular tune is like an ink blot test: how we perceive its origins depends on what we heard before we heard it. Would the scientific test be to show the connections between the original and the later tune? Surely some 'ears' are less critical, or maybe less able to hear similarities.

I feel like the one who said, "I don't know much about art but I know what I like.'   

I heard a great quote via Ravi Zacharias on his radio show tonight. 'The glory of art lies in pointing to the greatest artist of all.'

That's why I prefer 'Nearer My God To Thee.'

Yours in song, Steve Sedberry