Sandbox
General principles
The Manual of Style is a guide applicable to all TTA contents. It presents TTA's house style, and is intended to help editors to produce contents with language, layout, and formatting that are consistent, clear, and precise. The goal is to make the whole archive easier and more intuitive to use.
The Traditional Tune Archive is a core knowledge base of curated, semantic data which means that the subject of the contents is related, as the title imply, to the traditional music in particular the music of North America, British Isles and Ireland.
It also means that the contents, as they are represented, are not automatically rendered by an algorithm but accurately entered following few simple and clear typographical style guidelines.
Finally the semantic attribute refers to the possibility to get queried and aggregated information otherwise inaccessible in traditional wiki that are only good for storing and retrieving individual facts.
In the Traditional Tune Archive, information relating to a piece of music are of type master (the semantic properties) and descriptive (Annotation). The addition of semantic properties is quite simple because the user is guided through the process by a form, while adding annotation to a tune requires, at least, a bit of musical and historical knowledge Given that, to insert a note one is required to comply with some simple rules to give the data an internal consistency (if only typographical) and write his notes in a blank edit page related (linked) to the tune entered in the form mentioned above.
Foreword
In addition to the music itself, each tune has properties or characteristics, which one will be asked to identify in the first tab of an "ADD TUNES" form, called "TUNE FIELDS". The more characteristics or properties that can be identified and entered about a melody, then the more rich is the semantic environment created. Furthermore, the more rich the environment, then the more robust will be the outcome of queries presented to the archive. The property headings in the "Tune Fields" section are explained below, followed by explanations of the contents of subsequent tabs and the style-guide that apply. One need not to enter all of the fields, but enter as many as one can accurately record. If uncertain of the veracity of information, please do not add it to the tune fields, although one may enter it (with qualifications about its factuality) in the descriptive (annotation) section.
ADD TUNES tab
Title
The name of the tune being entered.
This is a summary of the policy governing the titles of TTA's tune. It applies to the titles of TTA tune, not of external tune that are cited.
- Tune titles should conform to TTA's Tune titles, including the use of English language.
- Titles other than in English are to be entered in the original language, except where the translated title has been disseminated and has currency in English, in which case the English title is preferred.
- The initial letter of each title word is capitalized (except the a, an, the or of when not the first word).
- Do not use a, an, or the as the first word (Absent Minded Man (The), not The Absent Minded Man), unless by convention it is an inseparable part of a name.
- Avoid special characters such as the slash (/), plus sign (+), braces ({ }), and square brackets ([ ]), unless by convention it is an inseparable part of a name (Aggie Whyte's (Jig)) ; use and instead of an ampersand (&), unless the ampersand is an accepted part of a name (Emerson, Lake & Palmer).
- The final visible character of a title should not be a punctuation mark, unless the punctuation is part of a name (A-tiocfad ty sios go Lyunbeac?), an abbreviation is used, or a closing round bracket or quotation mark is required ('A' Polka (2)).
Also Known As
The alternate titles associated with the tune, including alternate spellings and variants of the title under which the tune is entered (e.g. "Mrs. Brown" for "Miss Brown").
- English translations of titles may be included in this field.
- Tunes cognate in only one strain, but not other strains, may be entered provided an explanation of the relatedness of the various strains is included in the descriptive (annotation) section.
- More than one alternate title can be entered separated by commas.
- All of the guidance in Tune title immediately above applies to Also Known As headings as well.
Composer
The name of the composer of the melody, if known. Tunes attributed to an individual, albeit composition credit not ascertained or disputed, may also be entered when there is ample indication in the historical record or a body of lore that links them. However, such attributions must be explained in the commentary section. Reminder: you may only enter music notation in the Traditional Tunes Archive that is in the public domain. Original melodies or specific arrangements of traditional tunes under copyright are not to be entered without the permission of the composer/arranger. Any questions regarding copyrighted material should be immediately directed to the site directors for resolution.
Region
Country of origin, and/or country where the melody has entered traditional repertoire. Check all that apply. However, demonstrated dissemination of the melody in regional tradition must be established qualify for multiple checks. For example, the strathspey "Athole Brose" was originally composed in Scotland, but Canada may also be checked as it has been in dissemination among musicians in the Maritime provinces.
Style
Sometimes called "genre" (the words are often used interchangeably), and despite arguments for use of one or another of the terms, they are both popularly employed to identify the overarching characteristics of playing style of traditional musicians. Although the majority of tunes will belong to one style or another, some will have "crossover" designation, and more than one style box may be checked. Thus, a tune may be a part of the core Irish repertory and played in an "Irish" style, but may also be played in "Québécois" style, as with the reel "Julia Delaney" and its stylistic counterpart "Reel des sorcieres," or by musicians for contra dancing.
Historical Geographical Allegiances
Traditional tunes are often extremely difficult to trace to an individual composer, although, of course, someone is always responsible for the original composition, despite the vicissitudes rendered by the "folk processing" that comes afterward. It is sometimes less difficult to determine the "Historical Geographical Allegiances"; meaning a regional or subregion in which the tune has been absorbed into traditional repertoire. A great many tunes will have become so aged and so widely disseminated that they transcend attempts to assign a geographic allegiance. Be judicious in your identifications, and make a check only when you are sure a melody can be historically attributed to a regional repertoire (even though it may have since gained wider circulation). Multiple selections may be made, depending on the historical record.
Meter/Rhythm
The organizing meter or rhythm of a melody is divided into two sections, duple time and triple time, then further identified by the name given to the characteristic rhythm. More than one meter/rhythm may be identified if the tune is rendered in various ways in the historical record. For example, it is common to find hornpipes played as reels, or jigs to be played as quickstep marches, and for older-form jigs to be rendered in 6/4 while modern versions are converted to 6/8.
Key
The key or mode in which a melody is written. The correct mode of the tune should be identified, and not the "shorthand" convention of naming a key that contains the correct number of sharps or flats. For example, it is not uncommon to find in abc notation a key identified as 'D' major (two sharps), when the piece has the very different sound of 'E' dorian (two sharps). However, it is also not uncommon in traditional music to have melodies that shift between modes or tonal centers, and these may be identified by the "Mixed mode" selection, and explained in the accompanying text box. Some melodies, particularly in march, quadrilles and waltz styles, have a marked key change between parts. This may be indicated by following the "Multiple mode/key" selections in which each part may be identified with a key selection.
Form and Structure
The overwhelming majority of traditional tunes are written in binary (two strain) form, often with a repeat of each section before the next is played. This is denoted by the letters AABB. It is quite common, however, for one or more parts to be played without repetition (form AB), or for multiple parts to be played in other ordered combinations. Thus, the forms AAB, AABC, AABBCCDD, ABCB or other combinations may also be appropriate in describing traditional tune strain combinations. Occasionally a traditional tune will have different ending measure(s) on the second repetition, and that may be indicated by use of an apostrophe (AA'BB'). Strains which are musically identical except for introductory or 'pick-up' notes, syncopated ties ('anticipated notes'), or similar small differences do not meet the threshold for an apostrophic mark, which should be reserved for more significant melodic differences. More than one repetition schema can be entered separated by commas
Following the TUNE FIELDS section of the ADD TUNES tab is
Score
As the name identifies, "Score" is the section for music notation. Tunes in the popular computer-based format called ABC notation may be "copied-and-pasted" into this section for translation into standard notation. In particular the editor (the music engraver) will find an edit box pre-filled with this simple template to complete/replace with the ABC notation (if any) for the tune entered in the form above:
----
<pre>
REPLACE THIS LINE WITH THE ABC CODE OF THIS TUNE
</pre>
----
[[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Tune Discussion]]
Upon completion/replacement, once saving the ADD TUNE form, the score will appear as follow:
X:1
T:Adam Buckhan O!
M:C
L:1/8
R:Air
S: Bruce & Stokoe - Northumbrian Minstrelsy (1882)
Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion
K:D
G|FA (Ac) (dA) (AF)|GB Bc d3z|ce ef (ge) (ed)|cA Bc d3||
Z|{d/e/}f2 ed cA (Ac)|{B/c/}d2 cB AF (FA)|{G/A/}B2 AG FA (dA)| Bg (ec) d2||
In case no ABC code exists for this Tune, the ADD TUNE form will show only a request for replacement like this:
REPLACE THIS LINE WITH THE ABC CODE OF THIS TUNE