A. The
files in this section are music transcribed into the ABC Music
Notation Language.
You
will need free ABC software such as ABCexplorer or
EasyABC. See Chris Walshaw's ABC Notation Homepage for
details.
The ABC files are plain text with no HTML elements and can be
downloaded by copy&paste into your ABC program.
The Fiddler's Tune Books 1 & 2, Peter Kennedy, EFDSS, 1951-3
The original books, of which this is a transcription, have long
been out of print, and although they have been re-edited and
republished by Dave Mallinson, the new version is quite
different.
Playford's Dancing Master vol 1, John Playford et al., 1651-1728
The most important early collection of dance music published in
England in the 17th century
Scan Tester,
Transcriptions from the 2 CD set of the Sussex concertina player
Johnson's 200 Favorite Country Dances Vol 8, 1758John Johnson's Choice Collection of 200 Favorite Country Dances, London 1758. English Dountry Dance Tunes from the mid-18thC.
Thompson's Compleat
Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances Vol 1 1751-57
Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200
Favourite Country Dances Vol 2 1758-1765
Thompson's Compleat
Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances Vol 3 1766-72
Thompson's Compleat
Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances Vol 4 1773-80
Volumes 1-4 of Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite
Country Dances perform'd at Court, Bath, Tunbridge & all
Public Assemblies with proper Figures or Directions to each
tune set for the Violin, German-Flute & Hautboy. Pr. 3s
6d. London, 1758,1765
GOULDING
& Co; 24 Country Dances for the Year 1808
Anonymous Dixon Family Music
Manuscript (1811)
A Music manuscript from Lincolnshire, England. Found in the Dixon
Family Papers in Lincolnshire Archives. It contains mostly popular
dance music of the period arranged for piano
Eliza Tennyson Music Manuscript Book
(1822)
19thC music manuscript from Lincolnshire, England. Compiled by
Eliza, mother of Alfred Lord, Tennyson. It contains mostly popular
dance and light classical music of the period. For solo
instrument.
WmClarke of Lincoln Music Manuscript Book,
1770
This is a Music manuscript from Lincolnshire, England. Compiled by
William Clarke, Charles Woodall, and George Skelton. It contains
mostly popular dance music of the period c1770.
The following three ABC files were originally put into ABC by
Pete Stewart in 2004. He has published them with explanatory
notes as 'Three Extraordinary Collections', Pete
Stewart, Hornpipe
Music, Pencaitland, 2007
He has permitted them to be used (not for profit) and I
have lightly revised them. Some of the time signatures were very
suspect, and I have changed many from 6/4 to 3/2 for the modern
reader. Some are marked as 6/4,where there is a good case for
them being properly in 9/4, but I have left those as they are,
being no great barrier to reading.
Thomas Marsden,
A Collection of Original Lancashire Hornpipes Old and New
containing Divisions upon each for the treble Violin. Being the
First if its Kind. London, 1705
John Walsh, The
Third Book of the most celebrated jiggs, lancashire Hornpipes,
Scotch and highland lilts, Northern Frisks, Morris's and
Cheshire Rounds, with Hornpipes the bagpipe manner, to which is
added the Black joak, the White joak, the Brown, the Red and the
yellow Joaks, with variety of Whims and Fancies of different
humour, fitted to the genious and use of Publik Performers.
London, 1731
Daniel Wright, An
Extraordinary Collection of Pleasant & merry Humours, never
before Published Containing Hornpipes, Jiggs, North Cuntry
Frisks, Morris's, Bagpipe Hornpipes, & Rounds, with Severall
Additional fancis added, fit for all those that play Publick.
London, 1713
The Village Music Project, A large assortment of old English manuscript tune books and antique dance instruction manuals, converted into ABC format, many with explanatory introductions
The Traditional Tune
Archive, An internet Wiki database of traditional tunes
in ABC, with their sources and histories
B.
Miscellany
British
Music Publishers and Engravers, by Frank Kidson, 1900.
Although the most famous publisher of British dances and dance
music was John Playford and his successors, there were many
notable publishers throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1900 Frank Kidson published a directory of all the ones
uncovered by him in his research. I have transcribed it into
HTML to render it searchable.
Part 1, Preface and Introduction
Part 3, Provincial, Scottish and Irish
Publishers
A PDF
copy of the original is available at The Petrucci Archive
C. External links to sites about traditional music and dance
Folkopedia,
A peer reviewed Wiki resource
The English
Folk Dance and Song Society, What it says on the tin
Ryburn3step, Promotes
a variety of folk-related activities within the Ryburn Valley
district of Calderdale
Astralsound PA
Basics Guide, No connection, not even a customer (too far
away) but it's an excellent online tutorial.
Veteran Mail Order,
online shop for traditional music and song.
Topic Records,
another.