Changeability in musical folklore performing process: evolution or just variability

The musical folklore items use to have continuity of general changes in large scale historically. We can see it in the instrumental folk music, singing folklore, traditional choreography developments. It is not easy to make clear analysis of this process and we need a great number of special studies based on it. We can show only the main points or directions of this object in some different levels here. Each tune of particular traditional folk song has a great number of its variations. Each folklore performer does not want to make clear copy while singing the particular song the same way, as he has heard it from the other performer. So, we are able to find hundreds of the same folk tune variants, performed by particular singers in different times and various localities at the folklore archives in Lithuania. We have a nice possibility to make a comparative analysis of definite part (it is impossible to record all the performing variations) of this melody existing in real folklore life this way. And all variants are both in melodic lines and in poetic texts there, as a rule. On the other hand, we also can see the very clear stability of some the most important intonations, motives or phrases in almost all the different recordings of the melody (and text, of course). It shows us a sort of very clear non-written rules, known intuitively for all the traditional folklore performers as the basic forms of all the oral tradition. All sorts of music performance on the stage have their own specific standards. We have to make a folklore program in clear time and sequence. We have to show the interesting things for all the audience only. Therefore, traditional folklore performers have to make themselves as the artists. They have to turn their faces right way, to speak, to sing and to play music enough loudly, to smile and cry according to the stage program. What more terrible things we can ask them to do? Is it the right perspective of the folklore evolution? Thus, in this article we set the main goal – to define, theoretically and practically comprehend the forms of modifications performed by musical folklore, meaning the definitions of its evolution and variability. Methods – scientific analysis, historical, deductive and comparative methods, generalization and hypothesis. The novelty of the research is primarily determined by applying the experience of Lithuanian ethnomusicology in solving the general problems of the musical features development in traditional singing folklore. Conclusions. All the situations presented in this article we would like to define as the changeability, variability or at least developments of folklore (or in folklore). And some of them we can find as development and evolution of all the art and culture history using the folklore (musical, verbal etc.) essence or its elements. Traditional folklore has its own basic laws. We are not allowed to force and to influence them. We can use the traditional folklore elements as the copies of primary folklore items for all the other purposes we need in the history of worldwide culture, but we will never be able to make clear primary items from such copies. This is the essence of everlasting process of folklore changeability in one hand and evolution in another one