Re: ABC notation
John, my point above is that I saw old, hand-written ABC notation in the 1970s that was nearly identical to what we today think of as Walshaw's system but it had nothing to do with computers. Walshaw didn't "invent" it, though he did refine an existing ABC system for qwerty keyboard characters, and added many details. A well-known Irish fiddler gave me photocopies of tunes hand written in ABC notation that used the standard letter names of the notes, bar lines, and numerals for note length. The tune name, key, and whether it was a reel, jig, etc. were written above the tune without the X, T, M, L, and K fields, but the info was there. This old system even used the tilde (~) for rolls. My fiddle mentor told me this was a common way for Irish players to jot down tunes learned at fleadhanna or from visiting musicians so they wouldn't forget them.
My guess is that Walshaw too had seen such earlier ABC. He certainly deserves credit for expanding and standardizing it, but its "invention" and use far predates his time on the planet.
Oops! Did I say that out loud?
Once upon a time: fiddle, mandolin, OM, banjo, guitar, flute, whistle, beer
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