Tunelines: A project by musician Helen Adam to collect and map traditional toponymic tunes from the UK.

New Book available!

'Swn y Nant, a second collection of Toponymic and traditional Tunes from Wales and Beyond' published October 2023. To buy this or the first collection, Tunelines, please drop me an email at [email protected]. Both books are £10 plus p and p.

Click on the map to find the tune connected to that place.

What is Tunelines?

Toponymic Tunes: tunes that are named after places. This project aims to give musicians a chance to connect together the music and geography of each country, and to play their way around the British Isles, following lines of tunes that link place to place and connect the landscape in a musical web. As it develops it will be the resource of a collection of traditional tunes, in an enjoyable to play format, with interactive mapping to help identify the tunes of any region.

All the tunes will be presented with a simple counter melody or harmony line, suitable for most melody instruments and also with chords for accompaniment by instruments such as keyboard and guitar. Click here to find a tune by its name, or you can use the map to search by location. Visit the about page to learn more.

Visit the blog for updates or to get in contact. Feel free to get in touch to tell me about your favourite tune from a place so I can include it.

I'm starting in Wales but will move on to England, Ireland, Scotland. Keep coming back for more.