I would love to see a "down a 4th" transposition on a 6-7course lute.
You could do that on an archlute, but that's a bit anachronistic for
Elisabethan
material, idnit?
RT
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Tayler" <[email protected]>
To: "lute" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2011 1:58 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Transposing lute tablature on sight
I transpose tab all the time, and "nearest neighbor" works fine in
meantone, particularly the tweaked versions of meantone that I use on
the lute.
The repertory that I most transpose, is of course lute songs,
especially Airs to Cour but also English lute songs, and here down a
tone is the most common, followed by up a tone.
Down a fourth I sometimes do as well, and down a third.
For whatever reason, I find down a tone by far the easiest, maybe
because singers often ask for it.
The other repertory that I most transpose is early 17th c. Italian
music of all kinds, either to suit the voices, or various wind
instruments.
Usually the transposition happens in rehearsal, so we just tryout a few
keys.
Then I either learn it well enough in the changed key to play it, or I
write it out in the *decided upon* key.
And it is handy to bring both versions because sometimes people want to
switch back before the concert,
Two things to point out:
The first is that these are the transpositions required by organists,
mentioned in numerous treatises, and all those old organs are in
meantone.
Second is if you place your pivot sharp *assuming* you may transpose
down a tone, you won't of course have a perfect temperament, but close
enough.
Last thing is programming: if you play a piece in F, and set up in F
temperament center tone, and transpose a G piece down a tone into F,
you are then transposing *into* the temperament instead of out of it.
Similarly, if you have a piece in A major and read it in F major you
will see a huge improvement.
Lastly, if you have a mixed program, which is quite common, of pieces
in F, G and A you can bring the two outriggers into the center.
Transposition then becomes the fastest and easiest way to improve the
temperament.
For those who enjoy musical puzzles, you can combine transposition with
scordatura to also improve the tuning and the range at the same time.
dt
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