I happen to be helping my son, the bass player, copy out the piano
reduction of the Bass Concerto by Eduard Tubin. (It's written for bass
with solo tuning - that is with all four strings tuned a step higher -
and he is learning it first on regular tuning. So he and I are copying
it so he can transpose it down a step and perform it with piano. Then,
if all goes well, he could perform it later with the college orchestra
with solo strings. Such is the complicated life of a double bass
student, unless his parents want to help him buy a second instrument,
and since the future status of his father's orchestra is still in
serious doubt, THAT ain't gonna happen.)
(It is an absolute monster of a piece, and is taking forever to copy.
When we're done, I hope we can get permission to sell or distribute this
thing, because it would be a shame to waste all this work on just
ourselves!)
Tubin (1905-1982 Estonian, moved to Sweden) wrote 10 symphonies and
other works, interesting cat if you haven't heard of him (I hadn't) :
http://www.erpmusic.com/p_EduardTubinAndHisTime.htm
http://www.emic.kul.ee/tubin/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Tubin
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000016D6/qid=1142524654/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/102-4751030-7695342?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174>
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000016CY/qid=1142524654/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/102-4751030-7695342?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174>
We are working from the published, well-copied ms, but I don't know if
it the composer's.
Now, to the point of this reply: The ms follows the rule for slurs over
tied notes, except when it comes to grace notes. The music frequently
has a figure of one or three grace notes leading to a whole note tied to
more whole notes, and it consistently slurs the grace note(s) only to
the first whole note.
Raymond Horton
Bass Trombonist,
Louisville Orchestra
dhbailey wrote:
Colin Broom wrote:
I'm working on a piece at the moment that happens to have some long
notes tied over several bars. Now I know that conventional wisdom
says that if one note is slurred to the next, the slur should extend
from the very first note over/under all of the ties to the very last
note, so, for example, if, in 4/4, I have a note three whole notes
long which then slurs to another note the same length, the slur
should extend across all 6 notes.
However, I'm thinking more and more that over extremely long notes
(often longer than the example above) it looks odd, and it seems to
look better and clearer to my eyes to have the slur just between the
last note of one and the first of the next. Furthermore, there is
part of me that thinks that from one point of view this makes more
sense, as a slur is essentally a fast event that takes place between
two (or more) notes and not across the entire duration of both (a
flimsy argument I'm sure).
I know this goes against what is said in most if not all of the
engraving books, but I have seen it in other scores, and not just
contemporary ones. I'm just wondering if anyone has any particular
opinions about this?
C.
My opinion is that if it looks strange to do it that way, do it
differently. As long as the different way is clear and unambiguous it
should be fine.
Conventions are just that -- devices which have worked the best for
the most people over the longest period of time. But they are not
necessarily set in stone without change of revision or alteration when
the situation seems to call for it.
But the clarity is most important, so that some stranger sight-reading
that music shouldn't have any doubt about how to play that passage.
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
Finale@shsu.edu
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale