Transcription notes for Hamilton's Universal Tune-Book
edited by James Manson
published 1845 in Edinburgh by W.Hamilton
transcribed 2016 by John Chambers <jc:trillian.mit.edu>
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The individual tunes are in files with the name VPPPN_Tune_Title.abc, where V
is the volume ("part") number, PPP is the page number (1-150), N is the tune
number within the page, and the title has underscores separating the words.
This gives a very readable system that puts the tunes in the same order as in
the book. For the cotillions, I've appended "tune" and the tune number that's
to the left of the first staff, to help in associating each tune with its
position within the set (or SETT, as the book has it).
A number of tunes are transcribed in two version, with _V1 or _V2 appended to
the file name. The V2 versions use ABC 2.0 features such as voice overlays,
crescendo/diminuendo symbols, tremolos, and other things not present in early
versions of ABC. The V1 versions follow ABC 1.* rules, an attempt to handle
voice overlays with chords; tremolos are written out; "cresc..." and "dim..."
are used and so on. At the time of transcription (late 2015), there is still
a lot of ABC software that doesn't handle the ABC 2.* extensions, to the V1
files should work better. These files also have '-' or '=' instead of the '_'
after the initial number, for ease of distinguishing them in the Makefiles
that are used to create the large "all tunes" files.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Most of these tunes have been proofread by using the original abc2ps or my
own jcabc2ps clone for the V1 files, and Jef Moine's abcm2ps for the V2
files. Some have been tested with other software, such as abc2midi.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
There is a lot of variation in the style of titles. The capitalization has
been mostly preserved, with a few exceptions: Initial articles are usually in
lower-case, following a suggestion sometimes seen that this simplifies the
problem of getting software to ignore articles in alphabetical lists. The
software can simply ignore all characters before the first upper-case letter
(or digit). But note that the Makefile recapitalizes all initial letters, so
the HUBT*.abc files that are the complete collection don't follow this
scheme (and are closer to the original all-caps title style).
Another problem is that sometimes several titles are shown, with "--" as the
separator. Due to the problems getting such long titles shown correctly in
PDF and SVG files, I've sometimes split such long title list at the hyphens,
using multiple T: lines instead.
And an exception to this is the quadrilles, where the book shows the name of
the quadrille set only on the first tune. To help in identifying these tunes
that can be easily separated by software, I've included the quadrille title
in all the tunes in the set, and combined it with the tune's title into a
single T: line. None of the quadrille tunes have long titles, usually just
one word and an article, so this doesn't produce an overl-long title.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
This collection doesn't use many begin-repeat symbols, mostly only
end-repeats are used. This has mostly been copied in the transcription,
though it doesn't agree with the usual modern usage. In a few cases, initial
repeats or double bars have been added to clarify the start of the strain. In
many cases, the correct repeat pattern often isn't obvious, and the ABC shows
the original notation as closely as is possible. In any case, musicians
should determine the repeat patterns by working with a dance leader. A lot of
dance terms are known to represent somewhat different figures, and sometimes
different repeat patterns are needed for different groups, especially with
groups of experienced "vintage" dancers that may use more complex figures.
This also applies to "airs" used as song tunes. Singers should decide what
repeat patterns apply to their lyrics, and do the appropriate repeats. It's
common to have several sets of lyrics that use the same tune, and the repeats
may differ for such different "songs" that share a tune.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The tunes are often transcribed as multiple 2-or 4-bar lines, with '\' used
to join them together for making good PS/PDF/PNG/... images. This is normal
practice in ABC, to prevent damage by software like mailers that like to wrap
lines to make them shorter. It also corrects some clumsy formatting such as 1
or 2 final bars on a short staff. You should adjust the layout to fit your
own needs, since staff breaks rarely have any real musical signifigance. This
especially applies for people with visual problems.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
This collection uses "D.C." a lot, usually after the double bars or final
repeat symbols. Much ABC software likes to position "D.C." with the "D" above
the final bar line, sticking out to the right of the staffs, and this causes
problems on some printers or screens. To help fix this problem, "D.C." in the
ABC is usually placed before/above the last symbol (note or rest) before the
bar line. Sometimes a final y pseudo-rest is introduced, or a final dotted
note is transcribed as two tied notes, to get the "D.C." positioned close to
the right edge. Again, this has no musically significance, and publishers are
notoriously sloppy in such positioning; it's solely to encourage software to
position the "D.C." inside the display/printable area so it's visible when a
printer produces a wide margin.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Many of the tunes have comments about their origins and/or use in songs. They
have usually been transcribed in a %%begintext item at the bottom. Various
ABC software will format such text in different ways. Adjust them as needed
by your software. (The original positioning is probably not significant.) One
result of this in that N: lines are mostly used for editorial comments, and
don't usually contain text that was in the original.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =