It's nice on the R guitar when the 4-part harmonies work but that is
pretty rare. These bransles work best if the rhythm is accented rather
than the harmonies so I'd find a strum that works about twice a
measure and make sure a melody on the top works. For variation I'd rob
from the alto or tenor lines and put them up an 8ve if that worked
after the rhythm is established. And don't worry too much about the
inversions except on important down beats. Even then....
It's fun to get the guitar moving as it pulls the lutenist's ear away
from the relentless perfect harmonies. ;^)
Sean
On Nov 1, 2011, at 2:22 AM, Stuart Walsh wrote:
:
I think they're doable on lute plucked as usual although a ren
guitar or a cittern would be more suitable for strumming, IMHO.
Sean
Thanks Sean and Benny. I actually meant ren guitar or cittern (I don't
have either!). I was wondering exactly which chords would be strummed
- for example in the two tunes
http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Gervaise/
If you put a chord to each note on the bass line (easy to do) you
sometimes would have to make extremely quick chord changes (which
would be very difficult to do). Anyway, maybe this idea of putting a
chord to a bass note is a continuo concept and not applicable to the
1550s?
When Leroy made arrangements of some of these Gervaise tunes he got
rid of the four-part harmony. The late James Tyler claimed that you
could play the Leroy arrangements along with the four-part
arrangements. But you would have to be making adjustments to the
guitar part all the time.
So I still wonder what chords an average strummer (four-course guitar
or cittern)would actually play - for example on the tunes I uploaded.
I could imagine that a modern folk guitarist would just look at the
tune or just listen to it and come up with some chords which are both
playable and more or less fit the melody (but not fit as closely as
four-part harmony).
But that would be what a modern folk player might do, and I wonder
what a chordal instrument player might have done then.
Stuart
On Oct 31, 2011, at 3:56 PM, Stuart Walsh<s.wa...@ntlworld.com>
wrote:
How would a strummer strum chords to these tunes composed
(arranged?) by Gervaise in the 1550s?
http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Gervaise/
They are strong melodies (Poulenc arranged some Gervaise dances for
piano - but not these particular tunes). Maybe you just strum a
chord according to the bass line. It's easy enough to work out what
each chord would be. But playing at speed it would be formidably
difficult to actually play them unless you were a Freddy Green-type
professional. These Gervaise arrangements are in four parts and, as
it stands, the bass is very easy to play as a single note. But
really not so easy at all when the chords are changing very quickly.
But it's often said that strummers strummed in these, and even
earlier, times. And, if so, surely they would have strummed to
accompany tunes like this. Would they have strummed a chord for
each note as dictated by the rules of four part harmony? Or
something simpler - but potentially more rhythmic?
Stuart
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