Understanding Lute Tablature &Transcription Basics

Part Three

The day will come when you will hear a piece of music performed on the lute and won't be able to find a guitar transcription. Or maybe you'll realize that what you thought was a good scholarly transcription is actually full of interpretive errors and not in the style of the period the original was written in. Whatever the reason, you will want to take a look at the original lute score. So you schlep down to the music library and find the piece. What? What is this gobbledy gook? It's lute tab and unless you're familiar with at least three different methods of intabulation, you are sunk.

This is the tough one -- German Lute Tabluture:

German lute tablature

German lute tablature is probably the most sophisticated tablature the lutenist will encounter. The system utilized a different Symbol, both letters and numerals, for each fret/string junction on the instrument. Each pitch had its own unique symbol. At first glance the arrangement of the symbols appears without continuity. When laid out in table format though, a pattern is readily noticeable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is readily apparent that this system has been modified from an earlier system devised for a five-course instrument. The upper case letters representing the sixth course obscures the linear fashion of the symbols at each fret. minus the sixth course, the open courses run 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 from lowest to highest. The first fret runs a, b, c, d, e from lowest to highest. After the fifth fret, the alphabet has been exhausted, two numerals which cannot be confused with any letter or number previously employed have filled the remaining, holes not covered by the alphabet. The sixth fret resumes with the alphabet with the addition of a line above each letter to differentiate them from those used on frets one through five.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Part One / Back to Part Two

 

Next Session: Where the rubber meets the road -- we will begin taking pieces in lute tab and rendering them in standard notation for guitar. How's that?

Feel free to contact us at information@pellegrinlowend.com

Hey, the new album is out! That's right, finally a follow-up to the reissue of my old album from the late 1980's.

Reflecting Pools is a departure for me as it is totally keyboard. Well, the guitar did show up on one track...

Click the image to the left to learn more, hear a few tracks --even get ordering info if you want it!