TRANSCRIBING FOR GUITAR: A COMPREHENSIVE METHOD by DANIEL WOLFF Submitted to ‘The Manhattan School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts© Copyright 1998 by Daniel Wolff. All rights reserved.ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Transcribing for Guitar: A Comprehensive Method by DANIEL WOLFF ‘Thesis advisor: Mark Delpriora “The purpose of this thesis is to provide a method for transcribing for the guitar musical works originally conceived for other instruments or instrumental combinations. Chapter one, which deals with general considerations encompassing various kinds of transcriptions, such as choice of key, handling of specific instramental notation styles, and use of fingerings as a transcription tool. Each chapter is dedicated to a different type of ‘transcription. Chapter two covers transcriptions of works written for early plucked instruments, namely the lute, the vihuela, and the baroque guitar. It includes an explanation of the various’ tablature systems, and possible altematives to translate them into modem staff notation. The chapter concludes with an analysis and historical overview of intabulations of vocal polyphonic works made by sixteenth-century lutenists and vihuelists, Chapter three focuses on transcriptions of keyboard works, and provides also a basis for transcriptions of works for other instruments that surpass the guitar in range and polyphonic capabilities. Conversely, chapter four deals with transcriptions of music originally conceived for melodic instruments, which by nature are less polyphonic than the guitar. It concentrates on the unaccompanied works for violin and cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. The concluding chapter discusses the specific problems of transcribing for guitar ensemble, including, duos, trios, quartets, and guitar orchestra‘Throughout the work, the various problems involved in transcribing for the guitar are presented, and possible solutions provided, always itlustrated by practical examples taken from the transcription literature. Chapters three to five each contain an additional section consisting of a thorough analysis of pertinent transcriptions, which purpose is to review the many aspects discussed throughout, In several instances, more than one transcription is given, in order to provide the reader with as many alternatives 28 possible. Even though this thesis deals primarily with transcriptions rather than arrangements, Some examples of typical arranging procedures are given to complement the main Points of discussion.TABLE OF CONTENTS ee ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi PREFACE 20.0.0... cece ces ecec eee eeneeeeeeees cee Mil Chapter INTRODUCTION. eed I. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ........ : ‘ 7 Fundamental Skills for the Transcriber ......... ie 1 Choice of Key . 9 Range Pedal tones Altering the tuning ‘Additional remarks Register Considerations... . usage eer 18 Changing the Notation... 0... .0. 0.020 : 20 Fingerings as a Transcription Tool .........0.0es0ees eee 25 I, EARLY RELATED INSTRUMENTS: Vihuela, Lute, Baroque Guitar... 28 sTablahure Notation Systems area niece ee reeeite 29 Italian tablature French tablature German tablature ‘The alfabeto system Additional symbols ‘Transcribing from Tablature to Staff Notation eee Ag: Considerations on the Original Tuning ........... Sees 33 Intabulations: Renaissance Transcriptions for Lute and Vihuela...... 64 TI TRANSCRIBING KEYBOARD MUSIC .......... n Register Changes ..... 0.0.0.0 e0eee cece eens eee 1 74 ‘Compressing the range Octave displacements Register inversion Creative register changes ivVoice-leading Changes ....-.. eee eee 97 Re-voicing ‘Subtracting notes Adding notes Changing the order of the notes Passages consisting of parallel thirds or sixths ‘Analysis of Térrega’s transcription of the Prelude Op.28 #20, by Chopin Adapting the Texture... 060s ee ee ee eee e es ‘Arpeggio textures Chordal textures Pedal tones Grace notes 139 Creative Changes .. 0.60.00 eee eee Comparison of Various Transcriptions of Cérdoba Op.232 #4, by Isaac Albéniz, IV, TRANSCRIBING FROM MELODIC INSTRUMENTS 176 ‘Transcription Procedures ........ : eee ae eae) ‘Addition of notes ‘Changes due to instrumental characteristics Octave displacements Subiraction of notes te Additional considerations ‘Analysis of the Guitar Transcription of the Presto from the Violin Sonata #1 (BWV1001) ..... ae 214 V. TRANSCRIBING FOR TWO OR MORE GUITARS .....- . 23 Chordal Voicings 02... 0-0-2. ce eee ees 223 Tuxtaposition Interlocking Enclosure: Overlapping Distribution of Material... 0-02... es atten cee 2d Distribution of melody and accompaniment Distribution of voices Voice exchange When there is not enough material to fulfill all parts Crossing of Parts ....... 0. 0-002 00 eae aieeiesicseeeaB4 ‘Avoidance of crossing Texture Treatment... 2... 6.00005 eH eet 293 Rhythmic Considerations. ....--..-- 4 301‘Transcribing for Guitar Orchestra... 0... eevee eee ee 303 Analysis of the Transcription ofthe Fugue #2 from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (BWV847), by J.S. Bach . 306 BIRDIOGRAPHY ete tidseee ee cries 316 UTA eee cee eee ett 328ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people contributed to a greater or lesser extent in the preparation of this work. ‘As much as I would like, it is unfortunately impossible to thank them all here, even though they all deserve my infinite gratitude. Nevertheless, some people deserve special mention due to their continuous encouragement and support. First of all, I would like to thank my father and sister, for their lifelong support for my activity as a musician. Had it not been for their ceaseless motivation, I might not have become a musician at all. ‘To my wife Ica, who has shared me with this work for longer than it may be deemed fair. Her enduring assistance has been vital throughout the long process involved in the creation of this work. ‘Among the competent faculty members of the Manhattan School of Music, special thanks go to my advisor, Mark Delpriora, for his helpful comments and ongoing encouragement. I must also acknowledge Dr. Jeffrey Langford for his valuable academic ‘guidance, and Dr. Nils Vigeland, for teaching me how to better understand the intricate facets of music as a whole. Finally, I wish to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico € Tecnolégico (CNPq), for providing me with the financial means to pursue my doctoral studies, as well as my colleagues at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil), for granting me a leave of absence to attend the doctoral program at the Manhattan School of Music. viiPREFACE ‘My interest in arranging and transcribing for guitar began at an early stage of my musical instruction. As a child, I was just beginning to study the classical guitar when I became interested in some of the piano pieces that my father, an amateur musician, practiced during his spare time. Particularly, it was the charming short minuets from Anna ‘Magdalena Bach’s notebook that captivated my attention, and I at once requested my father to show me the score. ‘What a frustration it was for me, who at that time was just starting to learn how to read music, to discover that not only was the score writen in two staves, but also the bottom staff had a clef Ihad never seen before. My father then pointed out that I could easily read the notes under the bass clef by counting two steps upward from what the notes would be if they were written in treble clef. Not without difficulty, I set out to copy one of the minuets onto a single staff in treble clef, since as a guitar student that was the only type of musical notation I could understand. After the copy was finished, I tried to play it on the guitar, only to find out that some notes were either out of reach for my left hand, or below the range of my instrument. I then attempted to solve these problems by displacing some notes to another octave, and to eliminate others that I though were unplayable, My first transcription was then complete. T brought to my next lesson my new “discovery,” anxious to see what my teacher's reaction would be. He was amused that a thirteen year old boy had gone through all the rouble of translating a piano piece for the realm of the guitar, and agreed to work on it with me. He then pointed out the many obvious mistakes I had made, and encouraged me to viiitranscribe other pieces from the Anna Magalena notebook, a project that absorbed me ‘throughout my summer vacation. That was the beginning of my lifelong involvement with arrangements and transcriptions. ‘Throughout my teen years, I made a number of transcriptions of works I wanted to play on the guitar. Whenever possible, I always compared my transcriptions with others ‘made by established musicians, and through the process of trial and error I was finally able to acquire the necessary skills for becoming a good transcriber. In the meantime, I became interested in making transcriptions for other instruments and instrumental combinations other than the guitar, and therefore decided to study orchestration as well. ‘Years later, as a candidate for the Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music, [had the opportunity to show some of my transcriptions to Carlos Barbosa-Lima, himself a highly skilled arranger and transcriber. He immediately showed his approval for my work, and strongly encouraged me to try making arrangements as well. My first attempts in this field were some pieces by composer Thiago de Mello, with whom Barbosa- Lima was about to make a recording. I was lucky enough that both of them were pleased with the results, and for the first time I had my arrangements recorded by a world acclaimed guitarist. From then on, I never stopped arranging for guitar, either to fulfill commissions or for my own performance. When I was hired as a guitar professor by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, I was assigned to teach a class on orchestration for composition and conducting majors as well. This gave me the opportunity to pass on to my students my ideas on arranging and orchestration, and required the organization of my knowledge of arranging into a didactic manner. Several commissions for orchestral works and arrangements for orchestras in Europe and South America followed, allowing me to further develop my arranging skills. I was also fortunate to be given the post of conductor and artistic director of the Camerata Consort guitar orchestra, for which I wrote a number of arrangements, as well as the position of arranger in residence for the Theatro So Pedro‘Chamber Orchestra. Occasionally, my colleagues and students started asking me how to do arrangements and transcriptions. Certainly, that is not a question that can be answered in just a few words, and it made me wonder: if someone wants to study harmony, counterpoint or orchestration, there are a number of good instruction books available, Regarding arrangements and transcriptions for the guitar, however, there are none of which I am aware. When some of my guitar students at the university requested me to teach them privately how to arrange for the guitar, I became very excited about the idea, and immediately agreed to the project. Strangely enough, I found it much harder to teach arranging for guitar than I did teaching orchestration, even though as a guitarist 1 assumed that would have been easier. In part, such difficulties were due to the lack of books to support my teaching. In my orchestration class, besides the skills acquired in my own experience as a professional orchestrator, I could benefit from the knowledge and organization of material previously established by others, such as Piston, Adler and Kennan. Nevertheless, that was no longer the case when it came to teaching how to arrange for the guitar. Therefore, I decided to write my own book on the subject, so that others do not have to go through the same long and painful process of trial and error through which I acquired my skills as an arranger and transcriber. Since the subject is considerably broad, I decided to concentrate at first on the problems involved in transcribing for the guitar, of which the result is the present work. It is my intention to follow it later with a second book, discussing the matters of arranging for guitar, In order to make this work as clear as possible, a number of examples are given in order to demonstrate in practice the points being discussed. These are not only drawn from ‘my own transcriptions, but also from those by leading scholars and performers of the guitar. Furthermore, a few complete transcriptions are included, along with a detailed analysis of the transcription process, to reinforce the understanding of the many aspectsstudied throughout. It is the hope of the author that this work will serve to enlighten the reader on the beautiful art of transcribing for the guitar, an art through which some of the ‘most sublime works in the guitar repertoire first came to light.To the memory of my mother“One of the old gentlemen expressed the opinion that the songs which the master, counting on certain effects, had set for orchestra, ought to be accompanied on a guitar. Then he turned his head most comically and, with bis eyes flaming, said, “He knows!”. .. from Thayer's Life of BeethovenINTRODUCTION ‘The purpose of this study is to investigate the problems involved in transcribing for the classical guitar. The guitar, although enjoying extensive popularity in several countries, ‘was kept apart from concert halls until a few decades ago. Such a situation led to a quality repertoire of small proportions, especially when compared with the repertoire of other instruments, such as the piano and violin, That is not to say that the guitar's repertoire is actually small; the guitar does indeed have a very large repertoire overall, but only a small part of it can be considered of substantial quality. For obvious reasons, great composers chose to dedicate their works t6> instruments with a greater acceptability in the international musical scene. There were even cases of composers who, having in mind the guitar during the course of creating a musical piece, eventually conceived it for another instrument(s), through which they alluded to the guitar's characteristic sonorities. Such is the case in several works of the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. (who, after hearing one of his pieces transcribed for guitar and played by Francisco ‘Térrega, manifested publicly his preference for the guitar version), also of Brazilian composer Emesto Nazareth (who in some of his piano scores asks the performer to try to imitate the sonority of the classical guitar), and of some of the keyboard sonatas written by Domenico Scarlatti while living in Spain. In addition, a great portion of the instrument's standard repertoire was originally written for instruments which preceded the modem guitar, such as the lute, the vihuela and the baroque guitar. Among others, I shall quote composers of the caliber of John Dowland and J.S. Bach, whose works constitute some of the most sublime musical pages currentlyexploited by the finest performers, As a result of this situation, the vast majority of professional guitarists make use of arrangements and transcriptions in order to expand their ilities. In the case of works written for early instruments, the use of repertoire poss transcriptions becomes sine qua non. The need for transcriptions to enlarge the repertoire was already perceived by the sixteenth-century lutenists and vihuelists, who transcribed a number of polyphonic vocal works by Franco-Flemish composers (intabulations). Baroque guitar composers also frequently resorted to transcriptions, for example those by Robert de Visée of works by Lully. Even the lute works by Bach, often performed in guitar recitals, are themselves transcriptions of works Bach originally conceived for other instruments. ‘The making of transcriptions continued into the nineteenth century with the two most important exponents of the classical guitar: Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani, who produced a large number of transcriptions of operatic excerpts by Mozart and Rossini, respectively. Following their efforts, Napoleon Coste transcribed many themes from important nineteenth-century works, as well as some pieces by de Visée, which he published as a collection under the title Le Livre d’or du Guitariste (Paris, 1880). It was through the work of Francisco Térrega, however, that guitar transcriptions become most popular. Besides being an important composer and pedagogue, Térrega’s vast transcription ‘output, including works from Bach to his contemporary countryman Albéniz, is quite impressive even by today’s standards, and most of them are still frequently played by students and professionals alike. His pioneering efforts were soon followed by others, notably Miguel Llobet and Andrés Segévia, and on the present day there is hardly any guitarist who does not profit from transcriptions in his or her repertoire. Since transcriptions are such an important resource in expanding the guitarist’s repertoite possibilities, it would be logical to assume that instruction materials regarding the ‘making of transcriptions would be widely available to the guitar student. We then face an unpleasant surprise: available bibliography concerning arranging and transcribing for theclassical guitar is almost inexistant, Besides a few short periodical articles, I was able to find only two books directly related to the subject: Barnes, George. How to Arrange for Solo Guitar: For Arrangers and Guitarists. New ‘York: Peer International Corporation, 1965. ~Bruner, Tom. The Arranger/Composer’s Complete Guide to the Guitar and Other fretted Instruments. Studio City, CA: Gresco Publishing Company, 1972. Both are written by jazz guitarists and, due to the authors’ use of a plectrum, are basically restricted to monodie writing, Bruner does dedicate a small, seven-page chapter to the classical guitar, which due to its shortness has a rather superficial approach, limited to a few suggestions and musical examples. Furthermore, both books are targeted at jazz arrangers who, although not guitarists themselves, want to include the guitar in their ensemble scores (for that reason, I consider the title of Barnes’ book quite misleading). They are therefore useless for the classical guitarist who needs to know how to make arrangements for his own instrument. The guitar student then faces two major problems: 1) a lack of knowledge and resources to transcribe the materials of his own choice, and 2) an absence of the capacity to discern the qualities and faults of published arrangements and transcriptions. These are the deficiencies which I intend to remedy with the present work, through the elaboration of a didactic method that comprises not only the analysis of relevant transcriptions from the guitar literature, but that also provides the necessary tools for the guitar student to develop skills as a transcriber. It is important now to define the meaning of the term “transcription” as it appears in this book. According to Carlos Barbosa-Lima, “transcription derives from the Latin trans, to move from one place to another, and scribere, to imprint a thought or idea. Hence, to take an original composition from.one medium to another without altering its essence; the necessary changes fin this process] will enhance [the] original intentions and make the structure clearer through the new medium.”* * Carlos Barbosa-Lima, “The Art of Transcription,” Guitar 13, no.1 (August 1984): 27.In several musical dictionaries, the term transcription is used interchangeably with “arrangement”, but since they involve reasonably different approaches, I believe it is necessary to clearly differentiate both terms. On this matter, I agree with Samuel Adler, who on his The Study of Orchestration gives the following definition: “Transcription is a transference of a previously composed work from one musical medium to another. Arranging involves more of the compositional process, for the previously existing material may be as little as a melody or even a partial melody for which the arranger must supply a harmony, counterpoint, and sometimes even rhythm [...].”"” The present work deals primarily with transcriptions rather than arrangements. There are, nevertheless, some instances in which arranging techniques make their way into a transcription. For example, when certain creative liberties are taken in a transcription, an arranging approach is being used. Conversely, if an arrangement is based on a particular version of a piece, such as a specific recording, such an arrangement may be quite close to ‘an actual transcription. For thatematter, a few arranging techniques will be discussed throughout this book whenever appropriate. Regarding the structure of this work, one of the most difficult aspects I faced was the organization of the material in an understandable way. While through my long experience T was able to become considerably skilled in the art of transcribing for guitar, it is quite another matter to be able to explain it to others how to do so. I therefore decided to assign each chapter to a different category of transcription in the following manner: —Chapter 1: Discusses general considerations applicable to most transcriptions, such as choice of key and scordatura, notation issues and register considerations. Although of considerable importance, most of these matters are somewhat basic, and thus this chapter may be skipped by readers who already have some experience on transcribing for guitar. * Samuel Adler, The Suidy of Orchestration, (New York: Norton, 1989) 512.Chapter 2: Discusses the problems of transcribing lute, vihuela and baroque guitar works, including an explanation of the various tablature systems, and possible alternatives to translate them into modem staff notation. —Chapter 3: Concems the transcription of keyboard works. It is the most important chapter, for it deals with many aspects that also apply to other types of transcriptions, notably those of works for instruments or instrumental combinations that exceed the guitar in terms of range and polyphonic capabilities. =Chapter 4: As opposed to chapter 3, deals with transcriptions of works originally conceived for melodic instruments, which polyphonic capabilities are more limited than those of the guitar. Concentrates on the transcription of the works for solo violin and solo cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. Chapter 5: Discusses the specific problems of transcribing for guitar ensemble. This portant to stress that the above structure serves most of all a didactic purpose, Many of the aspects discussed throughout apply interchangeably to various types of transcriptions. In order to avoid discussing the same matters over and over, I decided to concentrate most of the problems that apply to more than one type of transcription in chapter 3, except when I felt that a particular aspect needed further elucidation in connection with a specific circumstance. To facilitate the reading, cross references were included whenever necessary to other parts of the book where certain materials are addressed further. Moreover, as previously mentioned, most of the problems discussed are illustrated by practical examples taken from the transcription literature, so that the reader may more easily comprehend the elements being discussed. In several instances, more than one transcription is given, in order to provide the reader with as many alternatives as possible. At thc end of chapters 2 through 5, an additional section is provided with a thorough analysis of pertinent transcriptions, serving to review the many aspects discussed throughout each chapter. Finally, I wish to say that, in my opinion, a book on transcribing is as important for6 the guitarist as a book on orchestration is for the student of composition. Unfortunately, while composition students have a considerable amount of textbooks at their disposal, jonals alike have not been blessed with similar material to look guitar students and profes for instruction and advice, being therefore far behind composers in bibliographical aid. It is the purpose of this study to fill this important lacuna.CHAPTER I GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS In this chapter we will discuss some preliminary matters that are applicable to various types of transcription. Each of these types will be treated separately in subsequent chapters but, since the subjects in this chapter concer transcriptions in general, it is better to study them first rather than repeating it in every chapter. Nonetheless, whenever necessary, these aspects will be reviewed later in connection with a particular type of transcription. FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS FOR THE TRANSCRIBER Jn order to succeed in the art of transcription, She must have a comprehensive understanding of various areas of the musical knowledge. In many institutions, the study of orchestration is placed in the final semesters of the undergraduate composition degree, because the mastering of orchestration requires previous acquaintance with a variety of basic musical aspects. The same may be said of the study of transcriptions, with the difference that one does not need to have a thorough expertise in composition in order to produce successful transcriptions. ‘The following list enumerates the necessary skills for 2 good transcriber, not necessarily in order of importance. This book assumes that the reader is already familiar with the items on the list. 1. Thorough knowledge of harmony and counterpoint. 2, Comprehensive acquaintance with the original version of the work being transcribed. 3, Familiarity with a variety of compositional techniques, including atonal and 12-tone procedures, variation techniques, fugal writing, etcetera.44, Understanding of the characteristics and limitations of the instrument(s) for which the work was originally scored. These include tuning, range, timbre, sustain and decay capabilities, special effects and specific notation. 5, Familiarity with the particular style of the composer, including his harmonic idiom, typical chordal voicings and doublings, etcetera. In case the composer has written some original music for guitar, it is advisable to study it prior to starting the transcription, for it may provide valuable insight into how his ‘musical ideas relate to the realm of the guitar. If that is not the case, one can consult guitar works by other composers of the same style, time period and/or geographic location. Care ‘must be taken, though, not to assume that what applies to one composer will be appropriate to another, closely related composer. Nevertheless, some important conclusions may be reached from this process. Consider, for instance, the transcription for guitar of a vocal work by Josquin des Prés. Since Josquin never wrote for the guitar précursor instruments (remember that the guitar as we know it did not exist at that time), we may turn to sixteenth-century works for lute or vihuela to acquaint ourselves with the instrumental style of the time. An immediate conclusion is that none of the music for those instruments makes use of harmonics. ‘Therefore, it may be assumed that harmonics are stylistically inappropriate in a transcription of Josquin’s music. The same may be said of extended techniques such as tambora and pizzicato, none of which are present in the lute and vihuela literature. In the particular case of Josquin, we are fortunate to have available various transcriptions of his works by sixtecnth-century lutenists and vihuelists, which we will study in chapter 2. Other skills recommended for a transcriber are good sight-reading in all clefs, and fluency in key transposition, These skills are not as fundamental as those listed above, but would allow a faster understanding of the work being transcribed.CHOICE OF KEY ‘The transcription process often involves transposing the original toa key more suitable to the guitar. It is often said that a transcription which preserves the original Key is better than one which does not. That is not entirely true, Composers often choose the key of a piece not because they think that is the ‘right ey’ for it, but rather because it suits the instrument(s) for which the work is written. It is no coincidence that the violin concertos by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Brahms are all in D-major.' This is a particularly good key for the violin, because it maximizes the use of the open strings, and consequently improves the overall resonance of the instrument. That being the case, there should be no reason not to transpose a piece (0 a key that will maximize the use of open strings on the guitar. Take the example of Bach, whose transcriptions, be it of his own works or of those by his contemporaries, frequently involved a change of key in light of instrumental capabilities (the use of transposition in Bach’s transcriptions will be further discussed in chapter 4). Some may argue, however, that because of the imperfections in the system of equal temperament, cach key has its own distinctive sonority, which would be altered if transposition is involved, That is certainly true, but should still not preclude transposition in a transcription, for it also depends on the instrument in question. Consider keys such as B-flat minor and E-flat minor, which have a deep somber sonority on the piano (Chopi s Funeral March Op.35, for example, is written in B-flat minor). This same characteristic sonority will be lost if a key change is not adopted in a guitar transcription, because on the {guitar those keys sound rather dull and lacking in resonance. In this case, changing the key may actually preserve rather than alter the particular sonority of the original key. ‘That being said, we must next determine which are the keys that best explore the guitar’s natural resources. As seen from the above discussion, these are the keys that most profit from the use of open strings. Example | demonstrates the most frequently used keys "Beethoven transcribed his Violin Concerto Op.6%, for piano and orchestra in 180710 in the guitar literature, both in transcriptions and original works. The roman numerals indicate the scale degree coinciding with each open string. ‘Altered scale degrees are in black notcheads. Fxample 1. Most frequent keys in the guitar literature, (MAJOR A-MINOR G-MAIOR B-MINOR mvnuvwuim vivvinv ,wny 1 my cwvwwmv i E-MAIJOR 1 whvnbm v1 2 = Fj ‘As seen from the example, the most frequent keys are those containing from one flat to four sharps in the key signature, with the exception of F4-minor and C¥+-minor. Notice how in all these keys either five or six strings coincide with unaltered scale degrees, except for E-major, in which only four strings fall on scale degrees. Why, then, is E-major employed more often than F-major, which has five scale degrees on open strings? ‘The reason is that the number of open strings is not the only factor to be taken into account. Another important determinant is which of the scale degrees fall on open strings, and which of those fall on the three bass strings. The most important scale degrees to have con open strings are the tonic and dominant, followed closely by the subdominant, ¥ will hereafter refer to those as the primary scale degrees, Next in importance comes the supertonic, because it is the dominant of the dominant 2 Referring to the violin concertos mentioned earlier, notice thatthe open strings of the violin (G. da, ¢") ‘coincide with the three primary degrees and the supertonic in D-major.it Returning to the comparison of E-major and F-mtajor, notice that even though there ‘are more scale degrees on open strings in F-major, none of them are primary degrees, while in E-major four of the strings contain primary degrees. It is also important to take into account how many primary degrees fall on the three bass strings, for it will facilitate playing on the upper positions of the fretboard, The following table demonstrates the number of primary scale degrees falling on open strings, in the same keys presented in example 1 above. Example 2. Number of scale degrees on open strings Subdominant None’ None: None. None’ Subdominant Before proceeding, a couple of explanatory remarks on the table above may be in order. First of all, the number in parentheses in the keys of A, E and B-minor refers to the number of scale degrees when the seventh degree is raised (leading-tone), as commonly happens with pieces in the minor mode. Second, the total number of primary degrees on the rightmost column counts the two E strings, first and sixth, as separate occurrences Finally, the second column from the right indicates the presence of a primary degree on the third string, since it may be used for bass notes in passages exploring the medium and high registers of the guitar. ‘One should also check if the complete triads built on the primary degrees may also be played solely on open strings. The only major chord that is possible to play on open strings12 is G-major (in second inversion), which isthe tonic in G-major, the dominant in C-major, and the subdominant in D-major. The only minor chord falling on open strings 18 Esminor, Which is the tonic in E-minor, and the subdominant in B-minor. ‘The above discussion should suffice to demonstrate the various possible keys for @ guitar anscription, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, How, then, should we choose one of those keys over another? This will depend on a variety of factors, and often two transcribers will choose a different key for the transcription of a same piece, as We shall see on later chapters. As a rule, I would suggest trying the original key first. If that does not work, several parameters may influence our decision for the best key. Range ‘The first element to examine when deciding the key of a transcription is the original range. Davoli stated that itis important to “choose @ key in which the melody falls well within the range of the guitar. A good guideline is to keep the lowest note of the melody on the third string to ensure that there is enough room to build a chord below the melody note. ‘Also, the highest melody note should not exceed G on the [fifteenth fret of the] first string because of the difficulty involved in playing notes beyond the twelfth fret. Of course, this is [only] a general guideline, because there are many fine arrangements where the melody falls below the third string and exceeds a high G. Containing a melody within [these] guidelines [is usually] not a problem because most melodies are contained within a two- octave range.”” Melodies exceeding the range established by Davoli may also present other problems. “The extreme high register of the guitar not only increases tuning problems, but is also poor in sustaining capabilities. Passages in that register often require the omission of bass notes and other chord tones, and even if such passages consist of a single melody line, they may be very taxing for the player. On the other hand, passages exploring the low register tend to 2 Robert Davoli, “The Transcription Process: From Piano to Guitar,” Classical Guitar 4, no.8 (April 1986): 43,1B sound too muddy and, as stated by Davoli, may also require the omission of chord tones. However, a melody that extends over Davoli’s suggested range does not necessarily mean that another key must be chosen. Before abandoning a key, “one should note whether the highest pitch of the work in question occurs rarely or maybe only once; this could allow for the use of harmonics—if stylistically appropriate—or for moving the note or passage of notes to another octave range if the actual notes cannot be played on the guitar after the transcription key is chosen. This is also applicable to the lowest register of @ piece.” Octave displacements of this kind will be discussed in chapter 3. Pedal tones ‘Another important factor in determining the key of a transcription is the use of pedal tones. If a piece makes extended use of pedal tones, try finding a key in which the pedal tone(s) coincide with an open string, The fugue from Bach's first violin sonata, BWV1001, has a long passage with a bass pedal tone on the note D. Since it coincides with the open fourth string of the guitef, this fugue may be transcribed in the original key of G- minor, Notice, though, that G-tninor is not among the best keys for guitar, and thus many players prefer to transpose it to A-minor, in which key the pedal tone also falls on an open string (the sixth) if transposed down an octave. ‘Another fugue by Bach, from the third violin sonata, BWV1005, contains two passages with the pedal tones D and G. This case is somewhat more complicated because, even though it seems at first that both pedal tones fall on open strings, the passage containing the G pedal requires the G falling on the sixth string of the guitar. Therefore, Emilio Pujol transposed the piece from C-major to D-major, so that the pedal tones become E and A respectively. Note that some players, myself included, prefer to transcribe this sonata in the original key of C-major, showing that a pedal tone on a stopped note docs not make a passage unplayable, it just makes it more difficult. ‘Joseph Breznikar, “Transcribing for Solo Guitar." Guizar Review 63 (Pall 1985): 20,14 Altering the tuning “The term scordatura denotes changing the original tuning of one or more strings of the guitar (or any other sting instrument). Scordaturas are an important resource when choosing the key of a transcription, for they can extend the range and allow a greater umber of primary degrees on bass strings. The most common soordaturas in the guitar literature are: 1. Tuning the sixth string down to D 2. Tuning the sixth string down to D, and the fifth down to G 43, Tuning the sixth string down to C, and the fifth down to G ‘The scordaturas above are listed in order from most to least frequently used. The list excludes the tuning of the third string down to F-sharp, particularly useful for Renaissance works for lute and vihuela, because tuning issues regarding those instruments will be discussed at length in chapter 2. Example 3 shows the keys most associated with the scordaturas above, with roman numerals indicating the scale degree falling on each string, Example 3. Common scordaturas and their related keys CMAJOR(@&C,@wG) — G-MAIOR @ to D) G-MAJOR (@ to D, © 0G) Tvuvwuem vovyvtmw viitv t mv G-MINOR (@ to D, @ G) D-MAJOR (@ to D) D-MINOR (@ to D) vuivifgM or vrwwm 6 yori Notice how in all the keys the scordaturas provide at least one additional primary degree on the bass strings. This can be easily seen in the table below, which also indicates the number of occurrences of unaltered scale degrees in the various types of scordatura, Tt is advisable to compare this table with that provided in example 2 above.15 ‘Subdominant ‘Several conclusions can be drawn from the examination of this table in conjunction with example 3. In the key of C-major, tuning the fifth and sixth strings down to G and C respectively allows both the tonic and dominant chords to be played in root position solely on open strings. This scordatura is also useful for the key of C-minor. Keep in mind, though, that the tension of the sixth string is extremely low when itis tuned down two whole steps, which might result in a dark and muddy sonority. Nonetheless, the extra low range it provides yields rich sounding bass notes. : ‘The same problem does not occur when the sixth string is tuned down to D, for its tension is still considerably high in this case. Notice that, at first, it may seem that tuning the sixth string to D has no advantages other than the added range, for the fourth string, which is also tuned to a D, may be used for open string basses on that note. That, however, is not necessarily the case. In the key of D, major or minor, even though the tonic is already present on the fourth string, tuning the sixth string to D permits having an open string tonic bass even when the melody line is played on the fourth and fifth strings, which would not be possible otherwise. In G-major, the tonic note on the sixth string falls on the third fret, but if the sixth string is tuned to D the tonic is on the fifth fret. This allows access to the low tonic when playing in higher positions ofthe fingerboard. In fact, in such positions several bass notes become within reach of the left-hand when the sixth string is in D, not only in G-major, but16 in other Keys as well. However, in order to go even further'up on the fingerboard without Josing the low G, it is necessary fo tune te fifth string down t0 G. That, in turn, eliminates the bass note A, dominant ofthe dominant, as an open sting, Nevertheless, the low A may still be found on the seventh fret of the sixth string, allowing access to reve when playing in high positions. Notice that this scordatura warrants the addition of G-minor as a possible key for transcriptions. ‘Another advantage ofthe scordaturas involving tuning the sixth string t© D. both with and without tuning the fifth to G, is that it entails a larger number of scale degrees to be played as natural harmonics. Without those scordaturas the same harmonics ¢2h be played con the fourth and third strings, but not in the same octave. Furthermore, even in passaBes exploring only the upper strings, the scordaruras provide greater resonance because of sympathetic string vibration. Occasionally, scordaturas may also be used with the specific purpose of altering the timbre of the instrument. For his fifth suite for unaccompanied cello, in C-minor, BWV1011, Bach requested that the first string of the cello be tuned down from Aws. “That suite is perfectly playable without such scordanura, but the scordatura gives the cello a different, darker sonority. Since Bach himself transcribed that piece for the Tute in the key of G-minor, BWV99S, it has been frequently performed on the guitar, usually in A-minor. Some performers, though, prefer playing the pice in the same key as the lute version, tuning the fifth and sixth strings down to G and D respectively. A few players tune also the first string down to D, not necessarily because the piece might be easier that way, but rather because the lower tuning of the first string yields a darker sonority, much in the same way as when the first string of the cello is tuned down a whole step. Before concluding this section, it should be mentioned that itis not advisable to use ‘more than two scordaturas in a transcription, for it may easily cause tuning problems, especially in ive concert situations. Besides, multiple scordaturas may complicate sight reading, because when the tuning of a string is modified, the position of each note on the7 fingerboard is altered accordingly. Additional remarks “To conclude the present discussion on key transpositions, I must touch upon a few ‘mote important issues. The first concems the handling of transposition in multi-movement works. As a rule, when transcribing a piece in several movernents that demands transposition, the same interval should be used for transposing all of the movements This rule, like any other, has its exceptions. In Manuel Barrueco’s transcription of the Suite Espafiola by Isaac Albéniz, some movements were Kept in their original keys, while others were transposed at different intervals, Similarly, in Sérgio Abreu’s transcription of the Valses Poéticos by Granados, for two guitars, most of the piece is transposed up a fourth from the original, but three movements are transposed at other intervals: up a major second, up a minor second, and down a major second. Ts such inconsistency acceptable? This question can not be answered without a considerable degree of uncertainty, for it depends heavily on one’s aesthetic principles. In my opinion, T do not think that is a major problem in the specific works by Albéniz and Granados mentioned above, because in those cases not all of the movements are in the same key. Particularly in the case of Albéniz, it seems to me that the connection between the movements of the suite is more programmatic than purely musical. ‘The same cannot be said of, for example, a suite or sonata by Bach, in which all the movernents are either on the same key or in closely related keys. Furthermore, if we do a careful analysis of such works, we will find that in many instances certain groups of pitches, ora collection of specific intervals, serve as unifying elements between the isolated ‘movements that bring coherence to the work as a whole. The same applies to a number of other composers, notably Beethoven. Therefore, in such cases, transposing each movement at a different interval may jeopardize the harmonic unity of the piece.18 ‘This brings up another queation: should @ piece in which not every movement can be transcribed on the same key be transcribed at all? Again, the answer depend on personal opinion, Rather than try to answer it will Himit myself to suggest that, if such a piece is transeribed, the different transpositions are Kept within the limits of closely related keys. For example, the fist vilin sonata by Bach, BWV1001, is originally in G-minor, except for the thitd movement, which is in the relative major (B-flat) Since on the guitar this sonata is usually played in A-minor, the third movement should be transposed to C- major. However, Ihave heard players who transposed it to A-major. In this case, even if the interval pattem was broken, there still remains some sort of relationship between the keys: instead ofthe relative major, the parallel major key was used. Finally, observe that all the remarks made so far regarding the best Keys for the goitar and their respective scordaturas, apply chiefly 0 transcriptions of tonal works, In atonal and twelve-tone music, which is not writen in any key in particular, the choice of transposition will depend mostly on range and on how idiomatic the piece will be on the guitar in a specific transposition. Therefore; oftentimes it will be advisable to try all twelve possible transpositions before finally setting in any one in particular. In general, however, such works are not good candidates for transcriptions. Most atonal works tend to explore the extreme registers of the original instrument(s) to a larger extent than tonal works do, which may result in range and timbre problems in the transcription. That is true not only of atonal music, but of many twentieth-century works written in other harmonic idioms as well. Furthermore, the omission of notes, a common necessity in transcriptions as we shall see in later chapters, is more detrimental to the harmonic structure in atonal than it is in tonal music, where the omitted notes are usually either octave doublings or unessential chord tones such as the fifth REGISTER CONSIDERATIONS ‘The guitar is a transposing instrument, sounding an octave lower than the written pitches. Based on tis fact, many inexperienced transcribers assume that when transcribing19 for guiter, an attempt must be made to transpose the entire musical Fabric up an octave, 9 as to preserve the original sounding pitch. While that may be the case in some circumstances, itis by no means an axiom to be followed on a regular basis. In order 10 shed some light on this matter, a few of guidelines may be helpful. First ofall, rather than trying to retain the sounding pitch in a transcription, its beter to preserve the same geographical location within the overall range of the instrument, that is; the same sort of timbre as in the original instrumentation, Take for example the theme from the third movernent from Beethoven's Violin Concerto Op.61 (example 5). As requested by Beethoven, the theme must be played on the lowest string of the violin, which has a deep, sonorous quality. Should we decide to play this melody on the guitar, we could choose between playing it as writen or transpose it up an octave to achieve the same sounding pitch. If we decide for the later, the theme will fall on a register of the guitar which is not particularly sonorous, resulting ina different type of timbre than that requested by Becthoven. If, on the other hand, we decide to play it as written, it will fall mostly on the fourth and fifth strings, which are especially strong in that register. Thus, by maintaining the original written pitches the resulting sonority will be closer to that intended ice the by Beethoven, Notice that this is true even though the dynamic is marked piano, main concer here is timbre, not loudness. Example 5. Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Concerto Op.61, Rondo, mm. 1-4 su & 1 ase ee cee Observe, though, that not every instrument has the same register characteristics. Compare for example the flute withthe oboe, The low register of the fute is particularly weak and non-descriptive, while as it moves up the register its sound becomes strong and brilliant. Conversely, on the oboe most of the low register sounds strong and thick, whereas the upper register is rather thin. Therefore, when transcribing works for those20 instruments, one should take their different register ‘characteristics into account. Example 6 contains a melody that lies inthe Jowest range of the flute. It is written in a rogister similar to that of Beethoven’s theme in example 5, with the exception that it does not go 2s low because the lowest note on the ute is middle CG in some instruments), white on the violin tis the G below middle C. Since it Hes in the weakest part of the flute register, this melody could be transcribed for guitar an octave above, ie., with the same sounding pitches, so that it also lies in a weak part ofthe guitar register. ‘That would not be the case had it been originally written for the violin. Example 6. Low register flute melody 54 Certainly, the above discussion was based on short excerpts rather than complete pieces, in which other factors must be taken into account. Nonetheless, these fow remarks will seve to introduce the reader to matters of register and timbre in the transcription process. Later chapters will deal with such problems more extensively. It is hoped that the reader will now better understand the reason why it is of primary importance for the transcriber to understand the characteristics of the instrument(s) for which the work was originally composed. CHANGING THE NOTATION In the transcription process, the original notation may be altered in different ways, Tn general, such changes atiempt to adapt the original notation to typical guitar notation features, making the transcription clearer and easier to read. Changes in notation may also serve to update certain notation styles which are no longer in use in the present day. ‘A common problem in transcribing keyboard and chamber music works, which are notated in two or more staves, is that the number of voices may be too large to fit onto a single staff. Ifeach voice is notated separately inthe transcription, the excessive number ofa stems will look (00 cluttered, making it hardet to read. The same problem may occasionally te found in music originally notated in a single staf. Bach's notation in polyphonic works for solo violin, for example, assigns separate stems for each of the voices. This was a common practice at the time, and even in homophonic chordal passages each chord tone was often notated as a separate voice. Because of the difficulties involved in reading music notated in such way, this notation style fell into dectine shortly after Bach’s death. In order to solve those problems, a possible altemative is to combine two or more voices into a single voice in the transcription. However, care must be taken not to do so in passages in which the voices are considerably independent, for it may obscure the clarity of the voice-leading. Therefore, such a procedure should be reserved for moments in which the rhythmic structure of the voices is fairly similar. One such instance is given in example 7 below, from. the Bourrée of the first violin partita by Bach, BWV 1002. Notice how the passage becomes easier to read when the upper voices are combined into a single voice, while the voice-leading structure is still perfectly clear. Example 7.1. Bach, Violin Partita (BWV 1002), Tempo di Borea, mom, 21-24 Original iced petted aa ec — eRe In some of his solo violin works, notably in fast monodic movements, Bach used an inverted approach by notating a compound melody as a single voice. This reflects the limitation of the violin to sustain notes in such fast quasi-polyphonic situations. Since the came problem does not affect the guitar, we may apply an opposite procedure to that use in example 7, by means of dividing the original compound melody into separate voices in22 the transcription. Example 8, passage from Bach’s third violin sonata, BWV1005, sustrates such procedure by replacing some of the original sixteenth-notes with quarter- notes in the transcription. Further examples of this approach will be given in chapter 4 (examples 48 and 49). Example 8. 1.8. Bach, Violin Sonata THI (BWV 1005), Allegro assai, mm.23-25 Original prs as a = [ / TP foe ae ‘The attentive reader will notice that in the passage above the original slurs, which indicate the bowing pattern, were not preserved in the transcription. Instrumental specific notation, such as pedal markings in piano scores and bow indications in music for string instruments, need not be retained in the transcription because they do not apply to the guitar. On the other hand, any indication concerning general performance matters, such as tempo and dynamic markings, should be maintained in the transcription.’ Instrumental specific indications may, however, affect the way a transcription is notated. Consider the passage below, from the Waltz, Op.69 #2, by Frédéric Chopin (original in B-minor). Even though the basses falling on the downbeats are notated as quarter-notes, with the use of the sustain pedal they will actually last for two beats. Therefore, in my transcription for two guitars I decided 10 notate the basses as half-notes, while the accompaniment chords on beats two and three were notated as a separate voice. To facilitate the comparison between both versions, in this example the original was transposed to the key of the transcription. > Dynamic markings may occasionally be altered in transcriptions for guitar ensemble, withthe specific purpose of solving balance problems between the parts23 Example 9. Frédéric Chopin, Waltz. Op.69 #2, min.1-4 Original eee EEE SESS feet eee air 7 Bowing indications, different from the pedal markings in piano music, do not affect the sustaining of notes, but istead indicate the placement of dynamic stresses Downward bow strokes tend to be mibre accented than upward strokes. Nevertheless, one should not try to convey the effect’ of the original bowing by adding accents on the transcription because, had the composer desired special accents, he could have notated them in the score, One may, however, attempt to translate the bowing patter into right-hand fingerings in the transcription, as in example 10. In this passage, the notes with downward bow strokes are assigned tothe right-hand thumb, because of its apposing direction to the movement of the other fingers, Example 10. Bowing translated into right-hand fingerings (P= bow down; V = bow up) Original Guitar Transcription vmy Me ey pmipmivi Ifa decision is made to include fingerings in a transcription based on the bow indications, one must be careful to find out if those are indeed by the composer. Bow24 markings ate often added 16 the score by the editor, and the judgment of the editor, # valuable as it may be, may not always coincide with the ‘composer's original intentions. Before concluding the discussion on notation, T must touch upon an important emma in transcriptions. Oftentimes, the original rhythmic value of a note cannot be preserved on the guitar, either due toa left-hand shift of position, or because another note needs to be played on the same string. In such cases, should the original value be changed to the way it will actually sound on the guitar? Or should the original value be preserved? ‘This depends mostly on the transcriber’s personal convictions, and on the particular type of situation as well. In general, I prefer to notate the original value, so that the performer may etter understand the musical structure, and decide by himself how he should approach the matter. ‘This problem may also be viewed from the oppasite perspective. In polyphonic works for instruments of a melodic nature, such as the violin and the cello, often some notes may not be sustained for as long as it is possible on the guitar.° In this case, should an attempt be made to discover what the original rhythmic values might have been if the same work was written for an instrument without such limitations? Or should we refrain from altering the original values? This again is a matter of personal preference, and we have already seen examples of both alternatives. In example 8 the original note values were altered in the transcription based on such prescriptions, whereas in example 7 the original rhythmic values were left unaltered. Conversely, the bass notes in example 7 could also be imerpreted as half-notes, assuming that Bach only notated them as quarter-notes because they cannot be held Ionger on the violin. These matters will be further discussed in chapter 4. ‘Another common situation involving decisions on note values and polyphonic notation relate to music for the guitar precursor instruments, which was originally notated in Tam certainly aware that bowed string instruments have greater sustain capabilities thatthe guitar when ‘isolated notes are concemed. However, string instruments can sustain no more than two notes simultaneously, and then only if they fall on adjacent strings.25 tablature. Issues concerting the translation” of tablatire music into modem staff notation will be discussed extensively in chapter 2, and therefore need not be addressed here FINGERINGS AS A TRANSCRIPTION TOOL “The choice of fingerings is one of the most controversial issues in guitar performance, for they depend on many factors such as technique, interpretation, anatomy of each player's hands, etcetera, For the most part, fingerings are more associated with performance than with the transcription process. However, fingerings may be used for specific purposes ina transcription. We have already seen in the previous section how the right-hand fingerings may serve to translate to the realm of the guitar certain notation aspects specially used for bowed string instruments. Let us now examine a few other cases in which fingering indications may be advisable in a transcription. In guitar music, itis often necessary to indicate the string on which a note should be played, once the same note may be found on different strings. Passages using campanella effects can suffer the most if precise string indications are not provided. Since carapanellas ‘are occasionally used in bowed string instruments, one showld whenever possible transpose such works to a key in which the campanella may be preserved on the guitar, and then indicate the strings to make sure there is no room left for doubt. One such example is the prelude from the sixth cello suite by Bach, BWV1012. This suite is written for a five-string instrument, consisting of a regular cello with a fifth string, tuned to E, added in the treble, In this particular case, the various campanellas used throughout the piece can be maintained on the guitar in the original key of D-major. Example 11 shows one of these passages, in which the open first string is used for the campanelia effect. In the original, Bach indicated the campanellas by means of separate stems for the stopped and open string notes. In the transcription, the string indications ‘ensure that the campanellas will not be overlooked.26 Example 11. 18. Bach, Cello Suite VI (BWV 1012), Prelude, mm.24-26 Original # = @ 2 00 Oo O——— v Deere Notice that in the previous example other alternatives may be found regarding the string in which the original stopped notes are to be played, but not for the E pedal tone, which must be kept on the first open string, String indications are also particularly useful for clearly translating tablature into staff notation, as we shall see in chapter 2. Fingerings may also be used to capture certain characteristic features of the instrument for which the work being transcribed was originally conceived. That was the reason behind Kazuhito Yamashita’s choice of fingering in the passages below, from Beethoven's violin concerto Op.61. Both passages could be fingered in an easier manner, but.the glissandos resulting from the choice of keeping all the notes on the first string will have an effect closer to that when the passages are played on the violin. Example 12. Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Concerto Op.61, Allegro ma non troppo Mm.101-02 Mmn.331-33 o—_— In transcriptions for two or more guitars, fingerings may serve to solve balance problems in especially troublesome chordal voicings. In the following passage, the voices are distributed in an enclosure disposition, with guitar 1 playing the outer voices while guitar 2 handles the inner voices. As we shall see in chapter 5, this particular type of voicing does not yield a good balance between the players, for guitar 2 will have a tendency27 to sound louder than guitar 1. "The problem may bé minimized if the second guitar part is fingered on weak sounding positions, taking special care to avoid the use of open strings: Example 13. Fingerings used to solve balance problems in a guitar ensemble Te fh het ‘These few examples should suffice to illustrate the use of fingerings as a transcription tool. Further examples of fingerings used for specific purposes in a transcription will be provided in subsequent chapters.CHAPTER II EARLY RELATED INSTRUMENTS vihuela, lute, baroque guitar Music for the guitar precursor instruments—the vihuela, the lute and the baroque guitar—represent a considerable portion of the present-day guitarist’s repertoire. In general, transcribing music from those instruments to the guitar presents far less problems than transcribing music from keyboard, bowed string and wind instruments, due to the close affinity they share with the modem guitar. Not only is their playing technique quite similar, but the original tuning is in some cases so close to that of the modern guitar as to assure beforehand that a successful transcription will be achieved. ‘However, we must not overlook the fact that differences in construction between those instruments and the guitar, allied with their use of gut strings and the fact that at that time plucking with the right-hand nails was somewhat rare, will result in a different quality of sound. Nonetheless, I believe that possible solutions for minimizing such differences are more related to performance than to the actual transcription process, and would therefore exceed the scope of this book. Regarding the transcription process proper, there are two major aspects to be examined here. First, a clear understanding of the various systems of tablature notation, along with the possible alternatives for transferring their contents onto modem staff notation, will have to be established. Following that, I shall examine some cases in which the original tuning presents enough differences from that of the modem guitar as to result in possible misunderstandings. Finally, I will take a closer look at intabulations, involving the transcription of Renaissance vocal polyphonic music for the lute and the vihuela. This last29 section will be important not only in light of its historical relevance, but also for providing transcription solutions that, albeit at an early stage in the evolution of instrumental transcriptions, may prove useful in transcribing works from later periods. TABLATURE NOTATION SYSTEMS Music for the carly plucked instruments was notated in tablature, a notation system consisting of four to six parallel lines (depending on the instrument), similar to the moder staff, upon which either letters or numbers were written to indicate the placement of the left-hand fingers. Unlike today’s staff system, in tablature each line represents a specific string or course (a course consists of a pair of strings, tuned either in unison or an octave apart, which are almost invariably played simultaneously). For example, the top line may represent the highest sounding string, the line below the second string, and so forth. This disposition was reversed in some countries, where the top line represented the lowest sounding string. Also depending on the country in question, either letters or numbers indicated the fret(s) upon which the player had to position his finger(s). For example, an ‘open string was indicated by a zero or the letter “a”, and the first fret by the number “1” or the letter “b”. Finally, rhythmic signs consisting of beamed stems, with or without noteheads, were placed above the tablature. At first, rhythmic signs were placed above every single note (or chord), but from around 1530 onwards the signs were applied only to the first of several notes with the same value, Each rhythmic sign would then remain valid for all subsequent notes, until it was replaced by a different sign. For example, to indicate the following chythm: S773 32, a sign corresponding to a sixteenth-note would be placed above the first note, and another corresponding to an eighth-note sign above the fifth note in the group. Compared to the staff system, tablature offers both advantages and disadvantages. First of all, one must understand that tablature is a notation of action: it shows the performer what to do (i.e., where and when to place his fingers) in order to achieve the30 desired musical result, but does not show the music itself. Staff notation, on the contrary, is anotation of result: it gives the performer the actual music, but leaves him with the task of discovering what to do physically with his instrument to achieve the written musical result. It is clear then that tablature has the advantage of precisely indicating in which string a note is to be played, but it fas short in indicating polyphonic voice-leading and the exact, duration of each note—it merely denotes the time distance from one note to the next. Three different tablature systems evolved during the second half of the fifteenth century: German, Italian and French. Another system, which was mostly associated with the Baroque guitar, was the alfabeto (alphabet) system, Although the alfabeto system was not a tablature system per se, it was occasionally incorporated into music printed in tablature for the sake of convenience, and therefore its basic concepts will be presented here as well. Following is a study each of these systems separately.’ Italian Tablature In the Italian system, also used in Spain, the bottom line represents the top sounding, course, although an exception can be found in Milén’s El Maestro (1536),where the bottom line represents the lowest sounding course. Frets are represented by numbers, with the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth frets indicated respectively by the signs x, ii, and 12 (alternatively, an x with one or two dots above could be used to indicate the eleventh and twelfth frets respectively). In rare instances, the system was altered so that the number 1 indicates an open string, the number 2 the first fret, and so forth. This type of tablature is, known as Intavolatura alla Napolitana. Composers who used the Italian system included Francesco Spinacino, Joan Ambrosio Dalza, Francesco da Milano, and all the sixteenth- century Spanish vihuelists. Example 1 shows an example of Italian tablature notation. " Another system, capable of indicating polyphonic voices, appeared in Venegas de Henestrosa’s Libro de Cifra Nueva para tecla harpa y vihuela(Alealé de Henares, 1557), and was later used by Antonio de Cabezon (Madrid, 1578) Since this system was mostly associated with keyboard music, I shall exclude it from the present work. For detailed information on the Cifra Nueva, see Diana Poulton, A Tutor for the Renaissance Lute, (London: Schot., 1991).31 Example 1, Francesco Spinacino, Intabolature de lauto, libro secondo (Venice, 1507) re ee eee ce In the example above, the rhythmic signs are indicated on top of every note. As mentioned before, this procedure gradually changed so that rhythmic signs were placed only when a change of rhythmic value was necessary (Vicenzo Capirola’s Lutebook, €.1517, contains examples of both procedures). Example 2 shows the opening of a Ricercare by Francesco da Milano, in which rhythmic signs are only used when a change of thythm is needed. Notice that whereas in Spinacino the signs consisted of beamed stems only, here diamond-shaped noteheads are incorporated. Example 2. Intabolatura da leuto del divino Francesco da Milano novamente stanpata (3.4.)° ° i ij French Tablature ‘The French system, also used in England and later in Germany as well, differs from the Italian in two important ways: the top line represents the top sounding course (whereas the reverse occurred in the Italian system), and the frets are indicated by letters instead of numbers. Notice that, since the letter “'j” did not exist at the time, the sequence jumped from. “i” to “Kk”. For seven-course lute music, letters for the seventh course were placed below 2 According to Ness. this publication was made before 1536, Arthur Ness, ed, The Lute Music of Francesco Casanova da Milano, 2 vols. (Cambidge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1970): 12.32 the bottom line. Another solution, specially suitable for lutes with additional lower courses, was to indicate the notes of the extra strings as letters with one or more dashes above them, placed below the bottom line (see example 3). Thus the letter “a” with a dash above meant the open seventh course, the same letter with two dashes above indicated the open eighth course, and so forth. Example 3. Thomas Mace, Musick's Monument (London, 1676) PPA. PSP LP LAER? PRE eee i E yea? | as | Sy a “a 4a ea 4 This was by no means the only way to indicate the lower courses in French tablature. The table in example 4 indicates the various alternatives in use at the time. Example 4. Notation of bass courses in French tablature. Example 5 contains a fragment of a Branle Gay from Besard’s Thesaurus Harmonicus, in which the open seventh course is indicated by the letter “a” stricken by a dash (@). The hythmic signs in this example were specially used for works with tiple thythmic subdivisions (I shall return to them later in this chapter). Besides Mace and Besard, French tablature can be found in the music of John Dowland, Denis Gaultier, Adrian le Roy, Guillaume Morlaye, Robert de Visée, and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, among others.33 Example 5. Jean-Baptiste Besard, Thesaurus Harmonicus (Cologne, 1603) Pa riP sine ie German Tablature By far the most cumbersome of all the tablature systems, the German system was first used in Sebastian Virdung’s Musica getutscht (1511). Due to its extreme complexity, the German system was criticized as early as 1528 by Martin Agricola and was the first of the tablature systems to fall into decline (it appeared last in a collection of lute pieces published by Matthiius Waissel in 1592). This accounts for the fact that examples of German tablature are much more rare than those employing the two other systems, and in the present day there is hardly anyone. who has taken the pains to leam it thoroughly. For those reasons, I believe that a good knowledge of German tablature is not of primary importance for the prospective transcriber, and thus a concise explanation may suffice to introduce the reader to its rudiments. ‘The German system was originally devised for the five-course lute, with the letters of the alphabet running from the bottom sounding string to the top in the first fret, and continuing in this fashion for the remaining frets. Thus the letter “a” indicated the fifth string pressed on the first fret, “b” the fourth string on the first fret, and so forth. But this would suffice only up to the fifth fret (with the addition of the abbreviations for ‘et’ and ‘con’ following the letter “z”), after which the alphabet would start again either with double letters or single letters with a dash above, The open strings were indicated by the numbers “1” through “S”, with the number “1” representing the lowest sounding string (j.¢., the 2 Virdung attributes the German system to the blind organist Conrad Paumann (1410-73), although no printed examples have been found prior o Virdung’s..34 fifth string). ‘When the sixth course was added, several solutions were sought to indicate its notes within the already existing system, only to result in further confusion in an already complicated matter. Example 6 contains a table indicating the placement of the symbols in relation to the strings of the lute, including several alternatives for the frets of the sixth string. The open sixth string was usually indicated by the number 1 with a line through it (4). Example 6. German tablature system (dashed lines denote the frets of the lute) —> Nut Example 7 shows the opening of a Pavane by Pietro Paulo Borrono notated in German tablature, taken from Rudolf Wyssenbach’s Tablaturbuch uff die Lutten. Note how the similar rhythmic signs are beamed together, as frequently happens in German tablature. Other composers whose works appeared in German tablature include Hans Newsidler and Wolff Heckel.35 Example 7. Rudolf Wyssenbach, Tablaturbuch uff die Lutten (Zurich, 1550) yf! PIRPLT ON SEAIPEALIPULLTO HILAL aa ‘pl; i : de 7358 ar rel Frrq r+] e7sest 4 304 aa et ; FF Fe ‘What makes the German system so complex and awkward is that, as opposed to the other systems in which a few signs (letters or numbers) are enough to indicate the frets to be pressed in any string (by their placement in the corresponding line), in German tablature no lines ate used to represent the strings, and therefore a different symbol is necessary to indicate each intersection of fret and course. A comparison to the way we write words may better demonstrate the nature of the problem. In most languages today we are able to write any word by using different combinations of just a few symbols, which comprise the modem alphabet. In the Chinese language, however, a different symbol is needed to indicate each word, and thus thousands of symbols are required. Written Chinese is for ‘occidental languages what the German system is for French and Italian tablatures. To facilitate the comparison between the three types of tablature discussed so far, example 8 provides a short passage notated in all three systems, along with a transcription in staff notation. Example 8. Comparison of Italian, French and German tablatures Staff Notation French Tablature36 Italian Tablature an on va German Tablature Ren an no The Alfabeto System ‘The alfabero system was developed in Ttaly for use with the five-course guitar. The basic idea was to assign each letter of the alphabet to a specific chord in a specific position, and in that sense it was quite similar to the chord symbols used in jazz today, with two important differences. First of all, the letters used in the alfabero system did not correspond to the names of the notes, as they do in jazz chord symbols. Second, jazz chord symbols do not specify a particular position for the chord to be played; they do indicate the notes that, form each chord and which one of those should be in the bass, but the register disposition Of the notes (in close or open form), as well as which note will be on top, and which (if any) will be doubled is left to the discretion of the performer. Such was not true for the alfabeto system, in which the voicing for each chord was precisely specified. Due to its simplicity, the alfabeto system was particularly suited to notate music in the battente (strummed) style. For music in the punteado (plucked) style, tablature was used. Example 9 shows the chords of the alfabeto system in modem guitar notation, with their corresponding letters.37 Example 9. The alfabeto system* PERE tg aH em a He at GEE eee eee ME ‘As can be seen from the example above, the alfabeto system consisted only of major, ‘minor and seventh chords. Some authors devised alternatives to include dissonant chords as well, such as Foscarini’s alfabeto dissonante and Calvi's alfabeto falso. Here a note of caution may be necessary: the chords shown in example 4 were by no means a convention respected by each and every composer; instead, the meaning of each symbol (letter) could vary considerably from one author to another, Fortunately, books of alfabeto music usually included a diagram explaining the symbols used, and therefore I strongly recommend consulting those in a case by case basis before proceeding to the music. There was, however, a common variant that should be mentioned here due to its relatively widespread use. For chords consisting of the same exact left-hand fingering on a different position of the fingerboard, a number could be added after the letter symbol to indicate to which position one should shift the original chord. Consider for example the chords represented by the letters “G” and “Y”. They use the same fingering, but the former is played in first position, while the latter is in third position. Thus the second chord could also be indicated as “G3” (the chord of the symbol “G” played in third position), {As for the rhythmic signs, when used, they were indicated above the chord symbols in the same manner as in tablatures. The chord symbols themselves were usually placed above or below a single-line staff (barred or not), upon which short vertical lines would indicate * Note thet the chords are here notated inorder to indicate the postion ofthe left-hand fingers on the fretboard. If played on a Baroque guitar, the register disposition of the pitches would be different according to the particular tuning in use. See Considerations on the original tuning below.38 the direction of strumming. If the vertical line was placed above the staff, it meant an upward stroke (from the fifth to the first string) and vice-versa (see example 10). Example 10. U=Upward stroke; D=Downward stroke ddd d Staff Notation uo vuiubd iu PUEDE ee Dei Dae D- For popular tunes, sometimes only the lyrics with chord symbols above would be printed, without any indication of rhythm or the direction of the strokes, much in the same way as itis done in present day’s songbooks. The alfabeto system was eventually used in chamber music, in which case the chord symbols would be printed above the staff notation ‘An example is Biagio Marini’s,Diversi generi di sonate da chiesa e da camera, libro ii, Op.22 (Venice, 1655). Because the alfabeto system was so simple and easy to notate, composers soon realized how convenient it would be to adopt its chord symbols for music printed in tablature, as abbreviations replacing fully written-out chords. The result was a mixed style of notation, in which alfabeto symbols were used within the tablature, with up- and down- stroke lines placed just below the symbols (see example 11). Composers who used the mixed style included Giovanni Paolo Foscarini, Francesco Corbetta, Gaspar Sanz, Ladovieo Roncalli and Santiago de Murcia, Example 11. The mixed style (alfabeto symbols appear within the tablature) dd ee ‘Tablature39 Stat Notation u uD ttbupu vu ‘The above information should suffice to introduce the reader to the main aspects of the alfabeto style. Fot a deepet insight on the alfabeto system and its playing technique, consult James Tyler's The Early Guitar: A History and Handbook (see bibliography). Additional Symbols To conclude this section I shall next examine a few additional symbols to be found in tablature publications. A comprehensive survey will be impossible here, for the symbols ‘used were many and their interpretation, when clear, varied considerably from one author to another, sometimes even within different works from the same author. I will then ‘concentrate on the symbols which, due to their frequent use, are the ones the reader will most likely come across. Before proceeding to the actual symbols, mention must be made of the works for voice. and vihuela by sixteenth-century Spanish composers. In some of these, such as those by Fuenllana and Pisador, the notes corresponding to the voice part were printed in red in the tablature, to differentiate them from the notes printed in black, which were to be played by the vihuela. It is not clear though if the vihuelist should limit himself to play the notes in black, or play the notes of the voice part as well. Unfortunately, modem facsimile editions of these works are often printed in black and white, thus missing this important aspect of the original publication. Fingering indications were rarely used in tablature, pethaps because the system already specifies in which string a note is to be played. Nevertheless, a frequent practice was to place single dots under the notes to be played by the index finger. Since at the time the most ‘common pattem for plucking was the alteration of the thumb and index finger, we may assume in most cases that the notes which do not contain dots were meant to be plucked by the thumb. A later addition consisted of two dots (..) to indicate that a note was to be40 played by the middle finger, and three dots (...) to indicate that the ring finger should be used. These symbols were later carried into guitar works printed in staff notation, and are still in use in some present day publications. Left-hand slurs were notated in much the same way as they are in staff notation, but transporting them to the modern guitar may present some problems. This is specially true for music written for the Baroque lute, which tuning differs considerably from that of the classical guitar (see Considerations on the original tuning below), in which case awkward left-hand positions may result if one attempts to preserve the original slurring pattern. In my opinion, the original slurs should be maintained whenever they can be played with some degree of ease on the guitar, but carefully changed when they would result in excessive shifts of position and finger stretches. Baroque lutenists added sturs in a very idiomatic way, and in transcribing their music to the guitar one must be careful that the result is, whenever possible, as idiomatic as it is on the Jute. Even Baroque hutenists themselves would slur a passage differently when it was transposed to another key, just 30 that it fell more comfortably for the fingers. Therefore, there is no reason why guitarists should not do the same, With music written for the Baroque guitar, however, I recommend leaving the original slurs unchanged, for preserving the original slurring should present no technical problems, due to the similarity of that instrument's tuning to that of the modem guitar,* Another sign used in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Jute music was a diagonal line placed within the tablature between two vertically aligned notes, to indicate a broken (arpeggiated) performance.* This was often used in style brisé music, and also appeared in manuscripts by Weiss. Its rhythmic interpretation has been subject to controversy, but 5 According to Tyler (1980), slurs were absent from sixteenth-century tablatures, having first appeared in Girolamo Kapsperger’s Libro primo d'intavolatura di chitarrone (1604), ® This is not to be confused with a vertical line, which in lute manuscripts served as a visual aid to the performer, indicating that the notes joined by the line were to be played simultaneously (Piegge Attaignant, Tres breve et familiere introduction, 1529).41 fortunately a Frenchman by the name Perrine (dead after 1698, first namie not known) transcribed pieces by Ennemond and Denis Gaultier into staff notation in two methods published between 1680 and 1698, which shed some light on the realization of the broken- chord signs (see example 12). Example 12. Percine’s interpretation of the broken-chord symbol ‘Tablature systems, as mentioned before, cannot precisely indicate the duration of individual notes in a chord. Therefore, some symbols were devised to augment the duration of the notes next to which they were placed, In Italian and German tablatures, these took the form of a cross or a sign similar to the modem sharp symbol (#), indicating that a note ‘was to be held beyond the next note or chord (Antonio Rotta, Intabolanura de lauto, 1546). In French tablatures, note prolongation was sometimes indicated by a diagonal line, placed immediately to the right of the note (letter) to be sustained (Albert de Rippe, Quatriesme livre de tablature de leut, 1554), This most commonly involved bass notes, which had to be sustained against a faster treble melody. If such line connected two notes, it meant that the first note should be held until the second note was played. Finally, tablatures often contained signs to indicate ommaments such as trills, mordents, arpeggios and vibrato, These were so many, and differed so much from one author to another, that presenting them all here would exceed the scope of this work. Besides, the interpretation of a considerable amount of them remains uncertain to this day due to the lack of explanatory sources. Regarding Elizabethan lute music, for example, Parsons comments that it was “often littered with ornaments but, unlike latter Baroque music, nothing can be found to indicate their meaning. Should they be played above or below the note? What is David Parsons, “French Seventeenth Century Lute Musi 1985): 24. Classical Guitar 4, no.3 (November2 the difference in the signs? Should they all be played?...”* In this particular case, the ‘omaments took the graphic form corresponding to the modem sharp and double-sharp signs. Notice that, as mentioned above, the sharp sign could also indicate that a note should be held beyond the next note or chord. Furthermore, a double cross, similar to the modem double sharp sign, was also used to indicate vibrato (Nicollas Vallet, Piéié Royale, 1620). ‘The lack of information concerning omament signs, however, should not preclude us from attempting to explain their meaning based on how they were applied in the original sources. Regarding Renaissance lute music, Poulton states that to interpret the omament signs, “note must be taken of whether they occur on long or short notes and whether they occur on open or stopped strings. In some cases only one sign is used—generally a double cross in English sources and a comma in French. In this cases it is left entirely to the player to decide which of those in use is best suited to the particular point in the music at which the sign occurs. If two are used, examination will generally show that one sometimes ‘occurs on open strings and must, therefore, indicate a grace involving the upper auxiliary. ‘The other sign will then indicate a grace involving a note below the main note." To further complicate the matter, there was also considerable inconsistency regarding terminology. Tyler illustrates the problem as it applied to seventeenth-century guitar tablatures: “In seventeenth-century guitar tablature, the general term for an omament applied to a single note is, in Italian, tremolo, in French, agrémen, and in Spanish, habilidade or afecto. In other words, a tremolo does not necessarily refer toa specific ornament; itis also a generic term, and when a tremolo sign appears, under a particular note, it can mean that the player may, if he chooses, apply some ‘ornament to that note, be it a trill, a mordent, an appoggiatura, whichever is appropriate to the particular musical passage.”"? For the sake of comparison, Tyler goes further to present a table with the different * David Parsons, “Lute Transcriptions on the Guitar: A Few Ideas From a Lutenist.” Classical Guitar 4, no.2 (October 1985): 27 Diana Poulton, A Tutor for the Renaissance Lute, (London: Schott, 1991), 76. "James Tyler, The Early Guitar: A History and Handbook, (Oxford: Oxtord Univ. Press, 1980), 87.a3 signs used by guitar composers to indicate the trill, which I reproduce below." Notice the inconsistencies from one book to another by the same author, as with Granata and Corbetta. Example 13. Trill signs in guitar tablature [s oo [Parton (1640, Corbeua (1648), Guersu 164) [Prasanna fmeneeet| ‘Corbetta (1671 and 1674), Campion (1705) Fortunately, several tablature books included prefatory information concerning the interpretation of ommament signs, which I strongly recommend consulting in a case by case basis before proceeding to the actual transcription. The reader will also find several books ‘on omamentation listed in the bibliography, which may prove important for further research on the subject. TRANSCRIBING FROM TABLATURE TO STAFF NOTATION Although the above discussion should suffice as an instruction in reading tablatures, when transcribing music from tablature to the modern staff system certain decisions must be made concerning notation and rhythmic interpretation. In this section I will discuss the problems involved in this process, as well as present possible solutions for each of them, ‘As we have seen, the tablature system had the disadvantage of not being able to convey polyphonic texture and voice-leading. Thus, when transferring music into staff notation, one must decide whether or not an attempt to interpret the polyphonic fabric will be made. Example 14 illustrates both alternatives. " Thid., 89,44 Example 14. Two manners of notating a transcription from tablature Strict Transcription 4 Polyphonic Transcription es ‘The first solution, which I call “strict transcription”, has the advantage of being closer to the original as far as notation is concerned, for the time-values of the tablature are {fully (or proportionally) retained. On the other hand, a polyphonic transcription better illustrates note sustain as a Jutenist would have likely performed it, but it nonetheless presents another problem, namely, that of deciphering the polyphonic fabric. In my experience, however, Ihave found that in most cases the musical context is clear enough to indicate the voice-teading. In the few instances when that is not the case, I suggest thoroughly exploring as many alternatives as possible (fortunately, these rarely exceed two or three), and choosing the one that better reflects the way you hear it. particularly prefer to notate my transcriptions using the polyphonic method but, that being a matter of personal preference, others may opt for a strict transcription. Still others suggest adopting the strict method for some works and the polyphonic one for others, as is the case with Apel: “An objective weighing of the arguments for and against both methods [of notation] leads to the conclusion that neither can be exclusively preferred. Each has its advantages and its disadvantages. The literal [strict] transcription may be recommended especially for the early pieces in free style, such as the preludes (Called ‘ricercare’) of Dalza, Spinacino, and some of the fantasias by Milan. However, in the case of compositions which are obviously under contrapuntal influence (such as the numerous intabulations of vocal pieces) one could hardly g0 wrong in allowing such influence to find expression in the transcription. A transcription in a style reminiscent of the free keyboard polyphony of Froberger, Frescobaldi or Bach (in his toccatas, preludes etc.) would seem to be preferable in45 these cases.""? No matter which method of notation is chosen, it is advisable in certain places to indicate the string in which a note is to be played, for the sake of better portraying the composer's intentions. This shall only be necessary in the dubious cases when a note, which would be normally played on a certain string, is played on a higher fret of a lower- sounding string, often producing interesting campanella effects. The reader may refer to Ruggero Chiesa’s editions of the complete works by Milan and Francesco da Milano (both published by Suvini Zerboni, Milan), in which strings are indicated according to the prescriptions above, Key signatures were not used in tablatures, for the simple reason that the system itself, being a notation of action rather than a notation of result, did not make it necessary to indicate accidentals. However, when transcribing tablature music to staff notation, key signatures should be indicated in order to facilitate reading and avoid writing excessive accidentals. Inferring the key or mode of each piece from the musical context should present no major problems, and therefore needs not be discussed further here. In regard to rhythm, many sources establish a direct relation between the signs used in tablature and those of mensural notation. In general, these are quite easy to understand, for they correspond to signs similar to those used in staff notation, with or without noteheads. Thus, the preface to Spinacino’s Intabularura de lauto, libro secondo explains: “These are the (metrical signs:| T FE the first sigitis the measure (beat) to be observed, which has to be taken slowly enough so as to allow for the beats of the smaller values; because the second sign is the half of the first, the third the half of the second, ...”'* Note that Spinacino explained how the signs are related to cach other proportionally, but did not specify a direct relation between those and the signs used in mensural notation. For that we "2 Willi Apel, The Notation of Polyphonic Music: 990-1600, (Cambridge, Mass.: The Medieval Academy of America, 1953), 61. * Ibid, 6246 tum to Attaingnant, who in 1529 explained that “the metrical signs are the usual ones, the plain vertical stroke for the ‘semibréve,’ and those with one to four flags for ‘minime, seminime, crochue, and fredon.’ [...] breves, longae and maximae never occur in lute tablature", since the resonance of a string does not endure beyond a semibreve. Metrical signs, when written on the staff [tablature], indicate a rest.”"* Rests were also indicated by placing a rhythmic sign (corresponding to the duration of the rest) above the tablature, without any notes underneath, as happens in works by Dowland.'é ‘Augmentation dots could be added to any of the signs to enlarge its value by fifty per cent, ie, the same a5 in staff notation, For wiple divisions the signst and were used, the first corresponding to one third of a semibreve (whole-note), the second equaling half of the first (00 example 5 above). In addition, the signs] and corresponded respectively to one and two fifths of a semibreve. ‘There were also two other sets of symbols uscd to represent rhythmic values. One appears in La réthorique des dieux Paris, ¢.1652), a collectidn of lute pieces by Denis Gaultier. ts rhythmic signs ae: a or | = 1,92), Dab. Sm other, to be found in manuscripts by Weiss, used staff notation signs for whole- and haif- notes, but different ones for quarter- (1), eighth- (”, sixteenth- 1) ana thity-second f ) notes, Once the above signs have been understood, it would appear that transcribing the rhythmic values from tablature to modem staff notation should present little problems. Care should be taken, however, not to always directly transport to staff notation the same values used in tablature. Although this procedure may prove successful in many cases, there will ‘be others in which the result will be rather awkward to read, and therefore it may be "This is not altogether true, for Milan used breves in his book, ' Apel, op. cit., 64. "* Notice that these rests indicate a pause in all the polyphonic voices. Rests within a single voice, while the remaining voices are still active, could not, as previously mentioned, be indicated in tablature notation,41 necessary to subdivide the original values into smaller ones. Unfortunately, itis impossible in this matter to find a rule of thumb that can be applied to every single case, always producing satisfactory results; instead, the use of common sense and, in certain dubious instances, personal preference, may be desirable. Consider for example a piece in which only three different rhythmic values are used: whole-, half- and quarter-notes. In such a case, reducing the rhythmic values in half (so that half-, quarter- and eighth-notes are used instead) would most likely be easier to read, and some might even prefer reducing the rhythmic figures to a fourth of their original values. Again, always use your personal judgment and, in case you decide to proportionally change all the values in a given piece, ask yourself the following questions: How easy to read will the “new” rhythmic values be? How clearly will they convey the individual voices and/or harmonic progression? How many unnecessary ties and rests will be avoided by halving the original shythm? I would say that, for the most part, reducing the original values in a 2:1 ratio will prove satisfactory. Thus Tyler suggests interpreting the tablature signs as follow: : Ted Read, Ba Amis is by no means an exclusive rule, but it should at feast serve as a starting point, Prior to reaching a decision on this matter, however, one should consider also the aspect of barring, which will be discussed next. Before that, example 15 will serve to illustrate different approaches regarding the reduction of original note values, applied to Francesco da Milano’s famous ricercare “La Campagna.” "Tyler, op. cit, 65.48 pe Example 15. Francesco da Milano, Ricercare “La Campagna’ eee r Reale Example 15.A shows, the original tablature, while example B is a polyphonic transcription that maintains the original values as they are explained in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century instruction books (see Attaignant's description above). Examples C and D reduce the original values in the ratios 2:1 and 4:1 respectively. The attentive reader will notice that all examples have different time signatures and/or barring, The reason behind such discrepancy is that time signatures were absent from tablatures before the eighteenth century, and that the barlines—when used—had a different meaning than that of the measure of latter periods.'? Notice that some vihuelists included signs similar to time signatures at the beginning of the tablature. Nevertheless, these signs had no relation to the number of beats per measure, as time signatures do, but rather served to indicate the tempo of the performance. Here is a list of these signs and their meaning, as explained by each "Tn his and the following examples, the original version has been transposed whenever necessary to match the key of the guitar transcription, in order to facilitate the comparison between both versions. ° Examples of tablatures without barlines include those by Attaingnant and some by da Milano (though not the one in example 15)49 composer: —Nérvaez (1538) = muy a espacio (very slow) © = algo apriesa (somewhat fast) —Mudarra (1546) = despacio (slow) C =ni muy apriesa ni muy a espacio (neither Fast nor slow) O = apriesa (fast) —Valderrabano (1547) espacio (slow) ‘mas a priesa (faster) "+ = muy mas a priesa (much faster) Regarding the barlines present in tablatures, they “did not always immediately precede the main accented beat; in other words, first beat of the bar and strong beat did not always coincide, particularly in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This might result in bars of shorter length than would be usual today, i.e., with a bar-line after each beat rather than after each bar of modern transcription, There was often a preference for bars in duple or quadruple rather than ternary meter.””° That was the criteria used in alternatives C and D in ‘example 15, which group the original “bars” into duple and quadruple meters respectively. ‘Some confusion may arise in pieces meant to be grouped into ternary meter, In such cases, the ternary division can be deduced form the harmonic rhythm, as in example 16: Notice how, through a ternary grouping, the chord changes coincide with the beginning of each new measure in the transcription, “It should, however, be borne in mind that [...} it is not [always} possible to draw a clear distinction between 3/4 and 6/8 meter. The triple rhythm may take the form of three quarter-notes or of [two groups of] three eighth- notes.””" Both options coexist in example 16: although the piece is clearly in 3/4 meter, the third measure in the transcription appears to be in 6/8. Rather than inserting a time signature change, which would result in a more cluttered transcription, I preferred to indicate the 6/8 ® David Hiley, “Bar,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Ea. Stanley Sadie, 20 vols, (London, Macmillan, 1980), I: 127 3 Apel, op. cit., 68.feeling by grouping the beams accordingly.” Example 16. Lays de Narvéez, Guardame las vacas Original & 4 4 Modern Barring ou It should be mentioned that some scholars oppose to this approach, for it results in the transcriber imposing his personal rhythmic interpretation into the transcription. Since in this, case the rhythmic interpretation is reflected in the beaming pattern, such scholars suggest using a 2:1 rather than a 4:1 ratio for reducing the rhythmic values, which would preclude beaming in ambiguous situations. Thus Bernard Thomas, discussing modern trliscriptions of Renaissance vocal music, states: “The beams that join groups of four quavers [[JJ} make perfect sense in, say an eighteenth-century concerto with its chord change on each minim, but if this notation is applied to a piece by Josquin or Willaert we get a misleading picture of the music, as series of equal notes should be open to several different thythmic interpretations. [...] With triple time pieces the problem is more acute: the rhythm J JTJJ is unambiguously in 3/4, and excludes the possibility of its being in 6/8 (J 2472). In other words, by quartering the original note values, the editor commits himself to imposing his own particular thythmic interpretation on the performer.” Based on Thomas’s statement, we may then establish that the choice between subdividing tablature rhythmic values in either a 2:1 or 4:1 ratio is primarily an aesthetical ® For a discussion on various possible alternatives to transcribe this passage, see Roland Stearns, “A ‘Manual of Lute, Vihuela, and Guitar Tablatures, with Surveys of Transcription Practice, Instrumental ‘Technique, and Beginning Pedagogy,” MM. dissertation, University of Idaho, 1978, 70-74, ® Bemard Thomas, “Renaissance Music in Modern Notation,” Early Music 5, no.1 (January 1977): 5.51 decision. Each transcriber should be able to decide for himself whether it is better to leave the rhythmic interpretation to the performer, or if that responsibility is his own. What is important here is to understand the consequences involved in each alternative before reaching a decision on this matter. Likewise, no consensus has been reached so far regarding the use of time signatures in transcriptions from tablature. The three main elements concerning the rhythmic interpretation of the tablature—time signature, barlines, and the subdivision (or not) of the shythmic values—must be considered together in the transcription process, for any alteration to one of these elements will result in changes to the other two, In an effort to discuss the many problems involved in transcribing music from tablature to staff notation, in 1973 the American Musicological Society sponsored a study session entitled “Lute Music: Tablatures, Textures and Transcriptions,” to which some of the outstanding scholars in the field were invited. The participants in this section where then requested, among other things, to transcribe into staff notation an excerpt from a Saltarello by Bernardino Baletti (1554), which requires a temary meter. The resulting transcriptions illustrate the large difference of opinion on the matter of rhythmic interpretation, While some scholars transeribed the passage with no time signature at all, those who did add time signatures arrived at different results: 3/4, 6/8 and 6/45 Furthermore, the placement of the barlines, as well as the subdivision of rhythmic values, also changed from one transcription to another (the only similarity among all transcriptions was that the polyphonic method was used instead of the strict one). For certain works in ternary meter, occasionally a number three would be placed at the beginning of the tablature to indicate temary division (see example 5 above), but this referred to the triple subdivision of the original bars, and not to the arrangement of the ™ Roland Steams, op. cit, 35. © Thid., 67.52 original bars into groups of three. The number three placed at the middle of a piece would indicate a change from binary to temary subdivision, and an alla breve sign the retum to binary subdivision, The problem, however, is that in many cases such change was not indicated, and the shift to ternary subdivision has to be deduced from the change in the number of beats in the measure, as well as by the harmonic rhythm and the placement of the bass notes. Furthermore, in tablature music barlines are often of irregular length, even when a change from duple to triple subdivision is not involved, and thus modern editors frequently tend to regularize the original barlines to facilitate reading. Example 17, my transcription for guitar of a fantasia by John Dowland (based on Diana Poulton's edition),”* illustrates the change from binary to ternary subdivision, indicated in the original by a number three. The return to the binary subdivision, however, which occurs two measures later, is not indicated in the original, having been deduced from the harmonic rhythm (chords change at four-note intervals), the placement of the bass notes, and the number of beats in the measure.”” Example 17. John Dowland, A Fancy, nim.25-28 AR APA RAB RA RB sarees a Guitar ‘Transcription % Diana Poulton, ed., The Collected Lute Music of John Dowland, (1.ondon, Faber Music Limited, 1981). Note that here the original barring corresponds to actual measures rather than beats since, as opposed (0 example 16, barlines are set at a considerable distance from each other.53 RR ORS bh oR Finally, one last case should be mentioned concerning barring: the unmeasured preludes, so common in style brisé music. These lacked not only barlines but rhythmic indications as well, thus suggesting an improvisatory performance. In this particular case, thythm and barlines were left out on purpose, giving cach performer the freedom to claborate the rhythmic structure according to his particular taste. Therefore, when transcribing these pieces for the guitar, I suggest that only noteheads are indicated, without attempting to provide barlines and rhythmic signs that would otherwise distract the performer from their original purpose. The main lute composer of unmeasured preludes was Denis Gaultier. Many of the suites by Weiss also open with an unmeasured (or partially unmeasured) prelude. The interpretation of these works, which have brought a fair share of problems, exceeds the scope of this book. Suffice it to say that Frangois Couperin, who wrote preludes in this style for the harpsichord, later decided to rewrite them with barlines, an indication that even at that time their interpretation must have been quite problematic. CONSIDERATIONS ON THE ORIGINAL TUNING So far we have discussed the problems involved in transcribing music from the lute, vihuela and Baroque guitar in light of their different method of notation, We will now ‘examine the problems concerning the way those instruments are tuned, and how this may affect the transcription process.