music_data/source_samples/bfdb_README.md

British Folk Database (BFDB)

The British Folk Database (BFDB) is a collection of 13,835 dated folk tunes (monophonic melodies) in 'ABC' format, a text-based music notation system widely used for folk music.

File Structure

1. tune_abc_files/

• This folder contains all the folk tunes in ABC format.
• Each file is named using the pattern:
  yearOfCollection_Title.abc
  Example: 1740_Welch March.abc.

2. dataset.csv

• This file provides metadata for each tune:
  • filename: Filename of each tune
  • year: Year that the tune was originally collected
  • title: Title of each tune
  • source: URL to where the tune was found online and where applicable, the name of the tune book that it comes from
  • composer/performer: Composer/Perfomer/Collector of the tune
  • metre: Metre of the tune
  • key: Musical key of the tune
  • tempo: Suggested performance speed
  • style: Genre or style of the tune (e.g., jig, reel, march)
  • digital_transcriber: Name of the person who transcribed the tune in ABC format
• If any of these details are unavailable, the value is marked as N/A.

3. tune_pitch_rhythm_vectors.tsv

• This file contains pitch and rhythm vectors extracted from each tune.
  • Pitch Vectors: Represent the relative intervals between successive notes.
  • Rhythm Vectors: Represent the relative note values, e.g. in 4/4 time:
    • A quarter note = 1.0
    • A semi-quaver = 0.5

Notes

• The dataset is intended for musicological research, computational music analysis, and machine learning tasks.
• Please cite this dataset appropriately if used in academic or commercial work.