We are trying to collect ABC versions of all the tunes in the Ryan and Cole collections. Anyone is welcome to contribute. This is a highly experimental web facility, partly to test the feasibility of this method of collecting ABC transcriptions of tunes. Please send comments and suggestions to John Chambers at MIT.
After filling in the above information, the PS, GIF and MIDI buttons will convert the tune to that format and return it to your browser, which should be configured to accept the format. The Submit button will add the tune to the Entry directory, under your email address. After you submit a tune, there is currently no way to make further modifications other than by re-entering it, but this may change.
Your name should be whatever you like people to call you. It's not actually used for anything but documentation.
Your email address should be an address reachable from the Internet as a whole. An address that is likely to last for a few years is preferred. It will be converted into the name of a directory that will hold your tunes. This conversion should also weaken its value as an email address, to minimize the chances of its use by spammers. (If we have a problem with this, I'll add code to "encrypt" the address better, to make life more difficult for them.)
X: is the tune's index, and should be an integer. For single-tune files, it is usually 1.
T: is the tune's title. Please make it as close to the original as possible, including all punctuation and the rhythm name (if present). Also, enter the rhythm in the R: field.
B: is the book you got it from.
C: is the name of the composer. If there is a name above the tune at the right margin, enter it here.
Z: holds transcription notes. If you transcribed the tune, put your name here.
R: rhythm, such as reel or jig or tango. In Ryan/Cole, it is usually put after the long dash in the title. Note that 9/8 slip jigs are often just labelled "jig", but we should probably use "R:slipjig".
M: meter, such as 3/4 or 6/8. You may use C for 4/4 and C| for 2/2 time, or none for free meter.
L: is the basic note length, for notes not followed by a length. 1/4 means that an unmarked note is a quarter note. 1/8 means an eighth note.
K: is the key. D means D major (two sharps), Dm or Dmin means D minor (one flat). The classical modes are all legal, so EDorian and AMixolydian mean two sharps. The mode name may be abbreviated to three letters. A mode of m alone means minor. Case isn't significant.