Vihuela Tablature  All vihuela music is notated entirely in tablature (cifra in Spanish). The tablature used by the                               vihuelistas ­ with the exception of Luis Milan ­ uses the lowest line of the tablature to represent                                   the highest sounding course on the instrument, as it is viewed from the front of the player. This is                                     sometimes referred to as “Italian tablature.” By contrast, Milan’s tablature presents an inverted                         view of the instrument with the top line representing the highest sounding course (as in French                               lute tablature, and modern guitar tablature).  

 Sample from Luis Narvaez’s Delphine showing “Italian” style tablature 

   

 Sample from Luys Milan’s El Maestro demonstrating the inverted view 

  Frets are represented by numbers, with 0 representing an open string. Double digit numbers are                             often replaced with the letter X, with dots added ­ one dot to indicate eleven and two for twelve.                                     Rhythm symbols are provided above the tablature staff to indicate relative note durations. If                           several consecutive notes are to be performed with the same rhythmic duration it is common to                               see a single rhythm symbol provided at the start of the sequence as in the Narvaez example                                 above.  

     

Transcription into Modern Notation  Tablature notation tells the player where to place the finger and when strike each new note. In                                 this way tablature functions more as a set of sequential instructions than as a representation of                               the music being produced. One of the shortcomings of tablature notation is that it does not                               instruct the player as to how long each individual note should be held, or if notes should be                                   allowed to ring over one another. Therefore, transcription of tablature into modern notation is                           subject to interpretation. There are two basic strategies to follow when transcribing tablature:  

1.) Literal Transcription ­ no attempt is made to realize the duration of independent voices,                           preserving only the pitches and the rhythm as notated in the original tablature. This is                             also known as “Schrade notation” after Leo Schrade who used it in the 1920s. 

 2.) Interpretive Transcription ­ the transcriber attempts to realize the implied duration of                       

individual voices based on knowledge of the instrument and musical style of the period.  These methods may be used to a varying degree of detail depending on the intent of the                                 transcriber:  

  The top staff shows an example “literal transcription” or “Schrade notation” preserving only the                           pitches and rhythm. The next staff down includes all of the information provided by the tablature                               

including string numbers. This style of transcription is not very practical as it does not provide                               any additional information to what is available from the tablature and clutters the page with extra                               numbers. The bottom two staves demonstrate different approaches to interpretive transcription.                     In both of these examples the transcriber has attempted to infer the polyphony apparent in the                               music but with different goals in mind. The first has takes into consideration the physicality of                               playing the instrument and provides an interpretation of piece as it can actually be performed.                             This style is the most practical for use by performers because it is ready to be played as is. The                                       bottom staff takes the process of inference a step further, by capturing the full texture of the                                 ideas presented in the music. These transcriptions typically are more difficult and sometimes                         impossible to perform, but can be of great value for scholarly work and analytical purposes.   Tactus Reduction  Although the tablatures include rhythm symbols, literal interpretation of these usually leads to                         note lengths that are longer than would be expected today. To correct for this, it is common for                                   note lengths can be shortened by a ratio of 2:1 or even 4:1. This technique is known as tactus                                     reduction.   

 

   Performance on the Modern Guitar  One final consideration when transcribing music from vihuela tablature ­ or any other instrument                           for that matter ­ is whether or the resulting notation can be performed on the modern guitar.                                 Vihuela music can be very easily performed by making a few small adjustments. First, by tuning                               the third string down one half step to F# the modern guitarist can play using exactly the same                                   fingerings as a vihuelista. Not all pieces require this retuning, however opting for standard the                             standard modern guitar tuning may result in compromises to the music.  Second, using a capo on the third fret. This not only creates something closer to the original                                 pitch, it also produces a lighter, clearer sound appropriate for contrapuntal music.