I also started 30 years ago. Where did we pick up tunes then?

Some from live players but many from printed sources as opposed to recorded sources. We had a choice of 100's of tunes from the likes of the country dance manuals and, for me, from the copied sheets which Rick Smith handed out at his weekly musicians' workshops at CSH.

I would hazard a guess that most session players now get their repertoire from recorded sources - I certainly hear the same tune sequences played in different parts of the country. Of course Rick's sheets to some extent had this effect. I still come across the same tune sequences played even though the original source may have been forgotten.

Despite that fact that 1000s of tunes are now available in the likes of the Village Music Project, my guess is that many/most learn from recordings which can give a limited and standardised repertoire.

As to styles - again some inject their own individuality into their playing but many tend to adopt styles and maybe instrumentation from recordings.

My job takes me to various parts of the country and where possible I like to find a local session. It's great to find some common repertoire but it's also good to hear something new, I certainly like to add something of my own if the session is suitable.

I think I'll go a look over the river Derwent and ponder life.

Mitch