The+great+northern+tunebook+william+vickers+collection+of+dance+tunes+ad1770+free -

✅ Legal Free Download – The complete PDF is available from:

License: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND – free to share, non-commercial use, no derivatives without permission.

Why free?
The editor and society chose open access to promote study and performance of Northumbrian and Border music heritage.

To give you a taste of the gold within the Great Northern Tunebook, here are six standout tunes that are impossible to find elsewhere in such raw form: ✅ Legal Free Download – The complete PDF

As of 2026, the following resources provide legal, free access:

| Source | Description | Link / Search Keywords | |--------|-------------|------------------------| | Internet Archive | Scanned original manuscript + typeset edition | “William Vickers tunebook 1770” | | Traditional Tune Archive | Annotated tune index | “Vickers, William (Great Northern)” | | The Village Music Project | Transcribed ABC notation | “Vickers manuscript” | | Folkopedia / English Dance & Song Society | Historical commentary | “Great Northern Tunebook” |

Note: No payment or subscription is required. Files are available as PDFs, MIDI, and ABC text. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND – free to share,

Appendix: Sample Tune List (First 10 titles from the manuscript)

William Vickers remains a somewhat elusive figure. He is believed to have been a dancing master or a musician operating in and around Newcastle upon Tyne and the wider Northumbria region.

The manuscript itself is a large, oblong volume consisting of roughly 360 tunes. It was not published commercially in Vickers's lifetime; it was a personal "vade mecum" or reference book. Vickers wrote out the tunes by hand, likely for his own use in teaching, playing for dances, and preserving the melodies he heard. Note: No payment or subscription is required

The creation of the manuscript was a transitional moment in music history. The 18th century saw the explosion of the printed collection—most notably John Playford’s The English Dancing Master (1651). However, printed books were expensive. Manuscripts like Vickers’ represent the bridge between the oral tradition (tunes learned by ear) and the printed tradition. Vickers likely copied tunes from printed sources, broadsides, and other musicians, creating a curated playlist of what was actually popular on the streets of the North in 1770.

Editor: Dr. Matt Seattle (renowned scholar of Border piping and traditional music)
Publisher: Northumbrian Pipers’ Society (2008, 2nd edition 2020)
Features:

While the free edition is a tremendous resource, users should be aware:

Search exactly:
"Great Northern Tune Book" Vickers
You will often find a borrowed or downloadable PDF of the 2008 edition (public domain in some jurisdictions, or uploaded by contributors with permission).

Direct link example pattern (note: links change; search fresh):
archive.org/details/greatnortherntun0000vick