Transcription notes for "24 COuntry Dances for the Year 1748" (T. Davis)
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This book uses figured-bass notation, which ABC doesn't handle very well. The
following kludges have been used to transcribe it:

Vertical  positioning is indicated by a semicolon, so "6;4" means a 6 and a 4
arranged vertically above the note. (Figured bass can be below the notes, but
this publisher didn't do that.)

Sharps can be indicated with "#", but flats are a problem.  We can't use  '_'
in  quotes  for  a  flat  sign,  because it's already defined to position the
quoted texta above the note/staff.  So I've used 'b' in the figured bass  for
flats, as with ABC chords and keys. Also, a raised note (sharp or natural) is
indicated in this book with a back-slash through a  number,  which  we  can't
easily  use  in ABC, so I've used the equivalent "+" notation: "+6;4" means a
raised sixth plus a (normal) fourth above the note.  Similarly, '='  is  used
for a natural sign in the ABC figured-bass notation, as with notes.

Changing  notes such as suspensions or raised notes are drawn to the right of
a number, and we can do the same.  I've included a space when the music seems
to show a separation.  So "6;4 3" means a sixth and a 4th resolving to a 3rd;
"6;4#" means a sixth and a 4th going to a raised 4th.  And so on.

The usual rules for omitted notes seem to apply here, so a 3rd and 5th should
be generally assumed unless they clash with the given figured-bass notes.

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Phrases of a dance description from this time are often separated by  symbols
consisting of horizontal lines and columns of up to 4 dots. As in other books
in the "24 Country Dances ..." series, these symbols  have  been  represented
"rotated",  with '|' for the (horizontal) lines, and '.', ':' or ':." for the
columns of dots.  This book uses only the horizontal lines.

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