specialized on violin, and one of the top violinists then used to come and give us master classes was heinrick szeringlinist. in one of the master classes i was supposed to perform i think it was a beethoven sonata on the violin and piano and after i finished, he said, you know, he commented on my playing, and before i leave the stage i asked to play another piece of music. so i took the violin again and then i played an improvisation using all these ornaments and quartertones. when i finished, of course everybody was astonished and he asked me one question. he said, "young man, this is fascinating. "how could you play all these intricate notes? "but one thing i don't understand-- why did you play so many notes out of tune?" [violin music continues] (narrator) melodic expression also plays a fundamental role in other musical systems found around the world. in irish dance music for example, it is the tune that is of particular importance-- a fixed melody that is repeated over and over again in performance, but varied and ornamented differently each time it is played. (man) with irish music, the most im