However, it might be argued as well that "This direct transmission helps keep the music modal, melody-oriented ("linear") and rich in variation - whether pre-planned or spontaneous. Some Celtic players are passive holders of the tradition while others are creative collaborators who take more chances musically" (Hanway 2001). Arguably, The Chieftains do both.

             The Morning Dew, first recorded on The Chieftains" fourth album and several times since on other collections, is a reel. According to the Irish Tune Web site, although it may be notated as a 4/4 rhythm, it is sometimes notated by Irish musicologists as a 2/2 meter because it consists of "Two groups of four notes each, adding up to an eight-note bar. Within each group there are two heavy-light pairs. .You will sometimes see notes referring to a reel being 'singled" or 'doubled." This only refers to whether or not the eight-bar parts of the tune are repeated" (Irish Tune Web site), certainly a feature of The Morning Dew.

             The Morning Dew is also noted as one of the most often recorded Irish traditional tunes, with its first recording in 1927 by early modern traditional music proponent Michael Coleman (1891-1945). Subsequently it was recorded by six other single artists or groups before The Chieftains recorded it in 1973 (Irish Tune Web site).

             Irish music cannot easily be distilled into major and minor keys; to do so would "trivialize" its complex tonality, a tonality that "uses ornamentation such as melismatic variation to generate interest" (Hanway 2001). .

             It isn"t hard to find melismatic variations in Chieftain tunes. Even one of their simpler tunes, The Morning Dew, features a full raft of such variations. Opening with drum notes, the tin whistle shortly enters, followed by another tin whistle. A composition of only 16 bars, it nonetheless sees the main notes, in the second set, replaced by pairs of notes.