The abc specification allows for many more optional descriptive or information fields to be used in the tune header - the full list is :
| Letter | Description |
|---|---|
| A: | (Geographical) Area : eg A:Brittany or A:Sussex |
| B: | Book, eg B:Encyclopeadia Blowzabellica or B:O'Neill's |
| C: | Composer eg C:Andy Cutting or C:Trad |
| D: | Discography eg D:New Victory Band, One More Dance And Then |
| F: | File Name eg http://www.lesession.co.uk/woodenflute.abc |
| G: | Group eg G:Flute - this is used for the purpose of indexing tunes in software, NOT for naming the group / band you acquired the tune from (which should be recorded in the S: source field). |
| H: | History - Multiple H: fields may be used as needed to record text about the history of the tune.) |
| I: | Information - used by certain software packages, NOT for historical information or notes (which should be recorded in the H: or N: fields). |
| K: | Key -see part one of this tutorial for further details |
| L: | Default note length |
| M: | Meter |
| N: | Notes : Multiple N: fields can be used as needed to record detailed text notes about, well, just about anything you want to say about the tune that won't go in any of the other fields really ... |
| O: | (Geographical) Origin : eg O:Irish or O:Swedish |
| P: | Parts |
| Q: | Tempo |
| R: | Rhythm |
| S: | Source - where you got the tune from eg S:Olio or S:Dave Praties |
| T: | Title (and sub title) |
| W: | Words (lower case in-score, upper case below score) |
| X: | Tune reference number |
| Z: | Transcription note - the identity of the transcriber or the source of the transcription, eg Z:Steve Mansfield |
The X: index, T: title, M: meter, L: default note length, and K: key field are obligatory : the others are optional.
The fields usually occur in the following order: X: T: M: L: [optional fields] K:
Page last modified on 19 July 2022, at 0:11 GMT