Tabelatures -- Do you take liberties?

[Chris Despopoulos]

Hi All... Just wondering about how literally you take tabelatures. For example, in a Sanz fuge, there's a call for b-string, 10th fret to b-string, open. But the higher note is the leading voice, and wants to ring over the lower b. It's possible to arrange fingerings that lead into that high a on the e-string, but Sanz didn't see fit to score it that way. What would you do? Would you try a different fingering? Or would you take the tabs literally?

[Martin McDowell]

I think this sort of question is very good for discussion... I absolutely can't stand it when editors rearrange, or 'improve' pieces, and always want to see facsimiles of original editions for pieces if I can. With renaissance lute or classical guitar music I'm not inclined to change anything, (I've been thinking of posting something on a Sor study 'sor fingers') and endeavour to play the music as written, or not at all.... with baroque however, I haven't got a baroque guitar or lute, but like to amuse myself with transcriptions, therefore I respect the original as much as possible, and change things as I see fit... but never in order to 'improve' on the composition. In the case you mention Sanz could quite easily have written out this passage positioned differently, indeed the alternative you hint at is probably easier and the more logical first choice, in which case I'd want to play it the way Sanz presented it. An abrupt stop, rather than holding the note has its effects, one shouldn't presume a smooth line is better... but then if you prefer to play it differently you should jolly well please yourself!

[Chris Despopoulos]

Actually, in this case the fingering that gives you the ringing A is more difficult than what is scored. I take your point about the value of a stopped note, but I really do think in this case the note wants to ring, and players do their best to make it seem as though it does. For example, in a chapel the echos could easily give you that effect. Gosh darn it, I just sold my chapel the other day and I'm fresh out of luck.

In the attached image I indicate the two measures in question, and point with an arrow to the two notes I'm worried about. Then I show the alternate fingering below. In the first measure, use your little finger for the b-string 9, the b-string 7, and in the next measure use the little finger for the e-string 5. I find I can play it, and it gives me a sustained A at the start of the second measure.

------------------|------3---------------
----------------6-|--------0-2----------
-----------9------|------------------
-X-----X-9---7----|---0----------------
---7-8------------|-5--------4-0-2-4-

Let me be clear about one thing. I would *never* presume to write this music differently or otherwise "improve" it in that way. But as a performer I often like to choose my own fingerings. What I wonder is two-fold. First, do contemporary performers take liberties with a tabalature when they perform? Second, did contemporaries of Sanz take liberties when they performed?

And that leads to a third question... How do you find appropriate boundaries and guidelines? I have to admit that I'm new to the baroque guitar, and I'm really trying to figure this all out.

[Valéry Sauvage]

If you respect the voices, you can of course change fingerings. We don't have same hands and abilities. If music is respected... fingerings are not absolute laws. My opinion.
Val

[Frei]

I find that Baroque music is pretty scientific in placement of notes and counterpoint, I fell like a dunce playing it sometimes (for lack of baroque style composing knowledge) But Bach was famous for improve, and it was quite fashionable from what I understaand, to improv music in the Baroque era.

But I would think it would take a great deal of talent and or knowlege to figure it out, but thats on a much grander scale than a note or 2.

[Martin McDowell]

The easier fingering I thought of at a glance was moving to the top string for an open E (instead of E as 9 on 3rd course) thus playing EFG up to the A all on 1st course...will look at it proper in today's practice!... as to performers, I think they often take huge liberties with baroque guitar, for audiences that don't know the music it doesn't matter much.. entertainment etc. but myself I enjoy contemplation of the composer's take and try and keep in sympathy with it, I find baroque guitar recordings can be slightly irritating in this respect... but others love the improvisation (improve-isation!) all well and good perhaps in the moment, but over and over in a recording....

[Martin McDowell]

I was a bit rushed this morning, didn't look at your sequence for the other topic ... 'certainly' a 12, and 'certainly not' a 9, you put me on the wrong spot with talk of 5 or 9! - but back to this topic - I recently repaired my 4course guitar ... during the course of the repair I thought I might as well turn it into a small 5course of sorts, 8 pegs- so single top course and single 5th course seemed easy to arrange, and having put the strings on a couple of weeks ago, everything has settled down by now and I was able to play it this morning without constant retuning. It works rather well, and the fuga in question was perfect for it, (only 10 frets for the moment). I found I had by now collected 4 different modern transcriptions of this piece, and all of them agree with you that the A in question should be fingered on the 1st course and sustained. As one who enjoys playing with transcriptions for adapting to a modern instrument I don't really find fault with this, because in adaptions one might lose some effect here, and add an effect there... all good fun... but if you have the correct instrument, and the piece carefully composed, then I don't know why one would want to alter fingerings for the sake of one's own interpretation of 'voices', but if it pleases you then do what you will... just a month ago I transposed a Granata piece that was very tricky to play, from G minor down to E minor (for modern guitar, making full use of all six strings) and now it works like a dream - to the extent that I wouldn't ever want to play it on a baroque guitar in G minor... how degenerate is that?

[Martin McDowell]

I just can't stop myself adding one more comment.. then I'll be quiet.. there's often ways of fingering that give patterns to a sequence that can be a source of amusement (for me at least) and I find such a thing happens in the fuga with the jump from X to 0 on that 2nd course - three bars back, that activity in the upper regions begins with a leap from 0 to X on the 3rd course, so it's a sort of answering jump back. I really believe that this would be in Sanz's thoughts, after all, the graphic decorative touches to his tablatures show he was just as fond of patterns and doodling as me, and if I find delight in the leap 0 to X..... then X to 0, then I'm sure that he would have too.