To those on the Lute List who wonder why this harp related question is sent to you as well as the harplist, it is because you all have some experience with alternate notations/tabulations.
I'm looking at years of collection of vocal and instrumental music and trying to figure a way to make a sort of "fake book" for the harp. Lute tabulation is relative to the strings and frets, so isn't key dependant. The harp has strings tuned to fixed notes, and therefore the staff notation is key dependant - as each string has a fixed pitch and there are no frets. I'd like to set a notation readable for harp that is pitch independant, set the levers for the key and start on the chosen tonic. The best I've come up with so far is to use a full grand staff without a clef, but that still has the readability problem of the "notes on the lines" and the "notes on the spaces". I guess one answer would be to make two copies of each piece, one with the tonic on a line and one with it on a space. Any other ideas? Best, Jon
