In a message dated 2/28/2005 7:57:42 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Following on from the tuning / stringing discussion, I'm curious to know what folks think about standard notation transcription of five-course tablatures - how to deal with unknown tunings, octave stringing, imperfect/suggested counterpoint, etc.
Hi Stanley, I've done transcriptions from facsimiles into modern notation for baroque guitar, and I actually prefer reading the music in that form. I don't address the issue of suggested counterpoint (neither does tablature), simply leaving it up to the player to determine how long a bass note or inner voice, etc. should ring. The other issue of " to bourdon or not to bourdon" is easy to deal with; simply notate the 4th and 5th courses as they would sound with bourdons; the actual sounding pitch will be determined by the way you have your guitar strung. The stringing question seems to be an endless source of speculation and should be left up to the individual guitarist. In some instances however, you will have to place a circled number (to indicate which course) by a note when it's not obvious where it should be played: for instance, a on the fourth string -7th fret, as opposed to its normal position at 3rd string- 2nd fret. Basically what you end up with is tablature disguised as modern notation, but a lot easier to read; which is my goal anyway. This simplified notation requires a little common sense and musical knowledge, just as tablature does. One advantage to using this is it would be easy to set up pdf. files for sharing, most people have Finale or Sibelius, etc. for writing classical guitar music and those programs seem fine for this purpose as well. The only objections to this I can think of is from people who feel it's more HIP to read from the tab, or those who aren't able to read notation. As a musician who's looking for a practical score to work from, this is my suggestion. Even trying to read Sanz' tiny handwritten engraving gives me a headache. Another advantage to using notation is it may encourage more classical guitarists to try their hand at baroque guitar. I'm sure I haven't explained this thoroughly, but it's a start, I'm curious to know what everyone thinks. I can't remember if we can send attachments; but I'll try to attach a piece that I've done on Finale. James -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
