When I first heard of the abc notation - around 2 years or so ago (I'd always used SN before that), I also wondered at first why it had been created. I was discussing it with a melodeon player at a session, and he mentioned that he found abc very, very useful because he could - like Jack - just quickly jot down a tune he'd heard for the first time at a session, AND send it out to friends.

I find it incredibly useful in conjunction with the music notation program I use - "Harmony Assistant - as I can copy a tune in abc format from the web, paste it into Word, save as a text file with the .abc suffix, and then open it up with Harmony Assistant. The programme converts it instantly into SN and allows me to play it on the computer.

Brilliant - and manythanks to Mick Pearce above for an excellent exposition of abc.