Re: Lute tablature

[David Raleigh Arnold]

On Monday 19 May 2003 09:20 am, Laura Conrad wrote:
> >>>>> "Taco" == Taco Walstra <address@hidden> writes:
>     >> I was just asking lily to print tab; I didn't say it should
>     >> convert it into anything.
>     >>
>     >> It can consider it a funny kind of lyrics, for all I care.
>     >>
>     >> The abctab2ps tab output is really good, but the staff
>     >> notation of the vocal line reminds me of why I switched to
>     >> lilypond.
>
>     Taco> Laura, you're fully right. I maintain an archive with early
>     Taco> music typeset in abc (or perhaps better abctab), mostly
>     Taco> lutemusic + some figured bass
>     Taco> pieces. (www.wins.uva.nl/ABCArchive). The nice
>     Taco> characteristic of abc is the easy entering of the music (it
>     Taco> takes about 50% of the time to typeset a piece in abc
>     Taco> compared with lily).
>
> And even more than that for lute tab, if my understanding of lily's
> tab syntax is correct.
>
>     Taco> abc is however very primitive (I saw some nice dutch
> remarks Taco> about the syntax in the abc2ly python script, which are
> Taco> indeed true).
>
> If you feel like translating them and sending them on, I'd be
> interested.  Probably also irritated, but certainly interested.  I
> don't make any claims for the style of the parts of abc2ly I've
> written, but I do claim that nobody much would be using it if I
> hadn't done what I've done.
>
>     Taco> For lute tablature it's ok, but for more complicated scores
>     Taco> it's not. I moved over to lily for my figured bass scores,
>     Taco> especially because singers always want to transpose a piece
>     Taco> to a different key.
>
> I like the lily figured bass output, but after doing three sonatas by
> adding lily figures to abc2ly output, I have added it to my TODO list
> to have abc2ly translate "chords" that are just numbers to be
> figures. My eyes just can't handle that sort of editing, and if I
> could put them in the ABC, I could touch-type them.
>
>     Taco> for combinations of lute tablature + voice / simple staff I
>     Taco> still use abctab however, because lilypond support for tab
>     Taco> is still very incomplete for lutetablature. Would be nice
>     Taco> however if support is improved.
>
> I agree -- that's the main reason I started this thread.  I was also
> thinking that if someone figured out how to do a Dowland-style
> tablature at all, maybe abc2ly could be made to handle it.  It looks
> like it isn't theoretically impossible, but maybe the underlying
> engine should be improved before anyone adds more bad syntax to
> abc2ly.
>
>
>     Taco> About your Dowland edition: EVERY luteplayer prefers the
>     Taco> lutetablature to some modern notation. A tablature part
>     Taco> should exist in every dowland edition.
>
> Well, dra obviously disagrees with you,

Not at all.  I was simply pointing out that all you have to do to get
the lute tab for Dowland is to use letters instead of numbers, leave
off the stems, and include notation *also*.  The advantage is not only
that it would be accessible to more people but also it could have the 
highly desirable feature of omitting the stems from the tablature.  
While the notation does take up vertical real estate, so do the stems.
DaveA

-- 
The biggest losers of all are the winners of an unjust war.
The wars are not over.  Just the winning part is over.
Bush lied.  Thousands died.  dra@ http://www.openguitar.com