# 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.