[Musicians] Re: Tune IDs? ("Dusty Roads" and "Rubber Dolly")

The 'right Key' is conceded to be the singer's Key. Most tunes and songs have more than one version or interpretation, which are melodic and/or rhythmic variances from 'how it was written' or 'what you are used to hearing'. Looking at song transcriptions is is not unusual to see a part of the melody written as e.g. a half-note in one verse and as two quarter-notes in another verse to correspond to one word versus two words. Many musicians (and even singers) will add different ornamentations which can add, subtract, and/or change notes. Whether it is the same tune/song has to do with the overall 'sound', minor differences don't change the basic melody. Yes, most tunes/songs tend to be played in a certain Key. I think that is because of how the notes fall on the instrument(s) it was written on and/or tend to be played on and/or sung in. What Key is it? That is determined by what note the tune/song resolves to and how many flats/sharps there are (the Key Signature) - this is really just a matter of what it is called. I've found most Music Theory instruction to be confusing, recently I think I've managed to sort it out - I'll start a new message thread with my take on it. Michael