Jim, this is an extremely complex question/problem, not least because there was NO SUCH THING as a standard lute in G. Lutes were of MANY sizes and pitches, and tabulature allows any piece to be played by any lute of any size within its appropriate time-period, regardless of the key and its relationship to each partucular instrument's pitch. RT
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Abraham" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "LUTE-LIST" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 6:50 PM Subject: [LUTE] Re: New Lutenist Question > The thing I really don't like about tablature is that it's hard to measure > intervals and in general to get a spatial sense of the music by looking at > it. I've often read that tab was necessary given the many different lutes > in > different tunings that one might write for. But most lute tablature, at > least in modern editions/transcriptions is usually identified as being for > one instrument or another, e.g. "for renaissance lute" or even "for > renaissance lute in G." If that's the case, why not just use staff > notation? Or is it to help the PLAYERS, not the composers, players who > might have to play many different lutes in different tunings, and who > reasonably can't learn all those fingerboards? Sorry if this seems > obvious, > but to me tab seems to have so much going AGAINST it vis-a-vis staff > notation, that there must be one incontestable reason for its survival. > > Jim > > On 11/14/06, Stewart McCoy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> Dear Neil, >> >> In my message of 14th November I encouraged you to go ahead and play >> guitar/lute duets, but advised taking care that there was a >> satisfactory balance between the two instruments. I assumed (perhaps >> erroneously) that you and your friend were planning on playing lute >> duets, reading from tablature, and that the guitar was acting as a >> substitute for a lute. I didn't mention the word polyphony, at least >> not in that message. >> >> Polyphony (literally many sounds) is the word used for music where >> there are lots of different melodies all going on at once, like in a >> Bach fugue, where each voice part moves independently. If all the >> voices move at the same time, like in a simple hymn tune, it isn't >> polyphony. A round, where people start singing one after the other, >> is a form of polyphony, but in 16th-century polyphony the voices >> don't necessarily copy each other exactly all the time, as they >> would in a round. >> >> I think Mathias is right to contend that it is advantageous to learn >> to read different notations, including staff notation. The sort of >> music you want to play will determine the sort of notation which is >> most suitable. For example, >> >> 1) If you have a single melodic line to play, especially one which >> has complex rhythms, it would normally be easiest to read from staff >> notation. >> >> 2) If you are trying to sustain more than one voice part >> (polyphony), tablature may well prove easier to read. >> >> 3) If you want to play in lots of different tunings, tablature will >> be easier than staff notation. >> >> 3) To play continuo, a figured bass line is generally the most >> practical notation. >> >> 4) For strumming chords or improvising a simple chordal >> accompaniment, just the chord name will often suffice (C, F G7, >> etc.) >> >> It's all a question of horses for courses. Generally speaking, the >> various notations which evolved over the years did so to satisfy a >> need: to enable the musician to reproduce a piece of music, with >> optimum efficiency of reading. >> >> I think lutenists should try to become familiar with different >> notations, and try to learn new skills: reading from staff notation >> and from different tablatures, improvising divisions around a >> melody, descanting over a ground, providing a suitable chordal >> accompaniment, reading figured and unfigured bass, improvising an >> accompaniment from a short score and even a full score, coping with >> different clefs, reading staff notation for lutes of different >> pitches and even different tunings, understanding harmony, and so >> on. >> >> One interesting aspect of notation is how the r=F4les of tablature and >> staff notation can gradually swap places: >> >> 1) Staff notation tells you the pitch of a note, but you have to >> learn how to play the note at that pitch on your instrument, be it >> lute, guitar, or sousaphone. After a while, when you read a note, >> instead of thinking of it in terms of pitch, you learn to associate >> it with a position on the neck of your lute. Staff notation thus >> becomes a kind of tablature. >> >> 2) Tablature does not tell you the pitch of a note. Instead it tells >> you where to find that note on the fingerboard of your instrument. >> After a while, when you read a note, instead of thinking of it in >> terms of a position on the fingerboard, you learn to associate it >> with a particular pitch. Tablature thus becomes a kind of staff >> notation. >> >> People differ in how well they learn to read music. By and large, if >> you are a good reader, you'll be lazy about memorising music. If you >> are a poor reader, you are likely to be good at memorising, if only >> out of necessity. >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Stewart McCoy. >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Are Vidar Boye Hansen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: "Jim Abraham" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Cc: "LUTE-LIST" <[email protected]> >> Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 6:50 PM >> Subject: [LUTE] Re: New Lutenist Question >> >> >> > I hope Stewart will explain it himself! >> > >> > >> > Are >> > >> > > I'm a novice, which explains why I don't understand Mr. McCoy's >> assertion. >> > > Can you explain it? >> > > >> > > On 11/14/06, Are Vidar Boye Hansen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> wrote: >> > >> >> > >>> Well, if that's the case, why use tablature? Really. Is there >> any other >> > >>> reason? >> > >> >> > >> I think Stewart McCoy claimed that tabulature is an excellent >> way of >> > >> notating polyphonic music for a plucked instrument. >> > >> >> > >> Anyway, lutenists did play from score, just think of continuo >> playing. >> > >> I am certain that you will find that its not difficult to play >> from score >> > >> if you practice a little. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> mvh >> > >> Are >> > >> >> > > >> > > -- >> > > >> > > To get on or off this list see list information at >> > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> > > >> > >> > >> > >> >> >> >> >> > > -- >
