ABSTRACT
Folkmusic is always difficult to notate. Folksingers tend to alter melodies at each performance with the result that the tunes are always in a state of flux. There is, after all, nothing to tie the singer down, no ‘dots’, no composer’s blueprint as in formal music. A singer may, if he chooses, give more attention to the story than to the musical line; or he may concentrate on the tune, exploring it, adding here and subtracting there as the mood takes him. Whatever the reason, or reasons, for these constant changes, they present a problem for the music notater, who has the choice of producing a near-accurate record of what he hears or presenting the reader with a comprehensible manuscript.
