TTA:Getting started/Tune book

Find traditional instrumental music


New Users
New to the Traditional Tune Archive?.

Adding tunes
The Tune input form

Tune book
The Tune input form

Recorded sources
The Tune input form

Tune Annotations
Anecdotes, provenance, examples of associated lyrics and miscellaneous information regarding a melody.

Typesetting Guidelines
A minimum set of quality guidelines for newly typeset works

Public domain material
Public Domain made simple

Theme Code Index
An alternative Search method


TUNE BOOK tab

This tab identifies sources in print in which the tune may be found, either in manuscript or publication.

Book/Manuscript Title

The title of the book or manuscript in which the tune is contained. FIDELITY ALERT~ The book/manuscript entered is the oldest one that can be verified as containing the tune with the tune title you are entering. The abc should be entered in the 'Score' section so that it can be verified. Do not enter a publication/manuscript that has the tune if it appears under a different title (although this would be a welcome addition to the 'Annotations' section).

Editor/Compiler/Collector

Denotes the individual(s) who compiled and edited a print collection, or assembled a music manuscript collection.

Page/Tune Number

Enter the page the tune can be found in the book or manuscript, and, if tunes are enumerated, the number of the tune in the collection.

Theme Code Index

Theme coding is a crucial function of the TTA, as it makes possible the matching of variants and the identification of un-named tunes. Tunes in the TTA are to be indexed using the numerical coding system for identifying initial musical themes as outlined by Charles Gore in The Scottish Fiddle Music Index (The Amaising Publishing House Ltd, Musselburgh, 1994). Mr. Gore acknowledges with gratitude the efficiency of the Numerical Representation system of Irish musical scholar Breandán Breathnach, upon which his own system is based. For best utility in the semantic environment, theme codes for each distinct strain need to be entered in the appropriate text box. An explanation of Gore's system can be found at the FARNE (Folk Archive Resource North East) site, item #6 on the "Search Tips" page.
You can also find the same explanation here in this site. Although the coding may seem superfluous or daunting at first, in actuality is is quite easy and produces reliable results.