I believe it's been speculated in this thread, and it seems rather plausible, that in the absence of soundboard frets, "XI" could mean any note sounded on the soundboard above the presence of frets, and the player was left to sort out which half step-to-step was appropriate by context.
Eugene > -----Original Message----- > From: Richard Yates [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 10:38 AM > To: 'Lute Net' > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Melchior Neusidler > > Thanks, Dan. Yes, I understand about typos and the various kinds one > encounters, and I think I can usually deduce by ear the correct fret to > use. > But the 'XI' symbol for the octave fret is probably not a typo as it (and > no > other) is used many times for that fret in the 1566 collections. The > puzzle > is that some folks here speculated that 'XI' was used for the octave fret > because he had no eleventh fret. If that speculation is not true then what > symbol WOULD be used for an eleventh fret? The spot I found at > http://www.yatesguitar.com/misc/Neusidler.jpg (I think the only eleventh > fret anywhere in those collections) suggests the possibility that 'XI' was > used intentionally for both. But that seems implausible also. If either > spot > is a typo, what would have been the correct symbol? > > >Sorry if you thought your question wasn't answered- I thought > >it pretty much was; specifically acknowledgement of the > >ambiguity of some of the fret/note symbols, the typos that > >occur in printed material, etc.- to me, just no big whoop one > >way or the other. I have those two books in one volume of > >Neusidler's works, (fine music > >indeed) and I just play them as I see them, adjusting for the > >typos or ambiguous symbols as they occur. So yes, in the > >Recercar Terzo "XI" is indeed the 12 fret but in the Pass'e > >mezo the same symbol is now the 11th fret, and so it goes. > >Nothing further to unravel once the right notes are found. > >I've actually found far worse typos in other parts of the > >book- don't recall where off hand, if you run into them I'll > >be happy to help out if possible. I think one cadence > >somewhere was still a bit of a puzzle for me the last time I > >read through it. > > > >Dan > > > > > >>Perhaps it was overlooked in the surge of new threads, or maybe my > >>question was just an uninteresting one with an obvious solution, but > >>any response to the example I found below about the > >mysterious Melchior > >>eleventh fret would be much appreciated. RY > >> > >>>I ran across another spot that confounds the question of the > >eleventh > >>>fret and its notation. In the Pass'e mezo Milanese there is a 'XI' > >>>symbol on the second course. It sounds to me like it should > >be played > >>>on the eleventh fret in contrast to other places (e.g. > >Recercar Terzo) > >>>where 'XI' seems to mean > >> >twelfth (i.e. octave) fret. Can anyone unravel this one? > > > > > >-- > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
