Hi Ariel, and welcome to the 17th century... Nigel North's book on continuo instruments is worth tracking down. There are second-hand copies available from here: http://www.amazon.com/Continuo-Playing-Archlute-Theorbo-Music/dp/0253314151/ ref=sr_1_1/002-5357019-7358431?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185485761&sr=8-1
It has chapters on theory, practice, organology, and lots of exercises and examples for various instruments. It is not perfect, but is still a good book to read and work through. Although primarily written for the theorbo, the following book is very interesting: http://www.utorpheus.com/utorpheus/product_info.php?cPath=3_35&products_id=4 75 - Cadenze e passage diversi intavolati per Tiorba, dal manoscritto estense G239. It is very like a jazz tutor in that it shows various ways of moving from, for example, a G Major chord to a C Major chord, or a ii/V/I sequence. The theorbo tablature has been transcribed into Grand Staff (treble and bass) so it is possible to utilize these passages on any instrument. This is a great way to learn stylistic passages. Again from Ut Orpheus, but of use only to theorbo players is 'A Tutor For The Theorbo' by Francesca Torelli. Italian or English texts available. I find it a frustrating book, with some questionable statements, but some useful stuff too. There is not much in this area, so it is worth reading as much as you can. Ariel, I know you are a first-rate musician, so I am confidant that the best thing you could do is just get stuck in. Use your ears and brain, start simple and build up complexity as you grow in confidence. You will have no problem at all. Rob MacKillop www.rmguitar.info -----Original Message----- From: ariel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 26 July 2007 19:32 To: [email protected] Subject: [LUTE] Continuo Dear friends, I've recently become interested in early seventeenth century continuo playing. I don't have professional ambitions with the subject, but I'd like to give it a serious try this summer. I'm starting to collect some published material, and would like to know if there's any book which is a must having. Found some really useful stuff on the web, and would like to know if there's anyone who has done (or knows about) a sort of a chord chart for g' tunning (for a ten course or an archlute, for instances), which takes care of proper voice leading, as you can see in many jazz guitar methods, to give an example. I will really appreciate any advice from players of all levels here! Thanks in advance, Ariel. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
