Sharps above the stave
In my endeavour to understand the written score, I come across the odd peice that I cannot find an answer for through Google.
In a piece that I am making an arrangement for, I have come across notes that have a sharp or natural placed above the stave. (see image)
Accidentals in the piece are placed as would be expected, along side the note in question.
The instrument is a bass, the stave is bass cleff. key of C.
The piece I am reading was composed about mid 1600's, but this arrangement was from 2005.
Thank You.
Alex.
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Comments
No idea what that notation means, but you could use staff text or 'miss-use' chord symbols for entering them, together with the F2 palette.
In reply to No idea what that notation by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks for the comment, yes, I am already doing that at the moment.
Asked my theatre / Orch conductor friend about it, he didn't know either.
It could be the notation of the "basso continuo"?
I think it was use it in the seventeenth century (Baroque).
I found a reference to Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli, 6 Violin Sonatas, Op.4
Maybe when the harpsichords were not tempered...
see note n ° 27:
http://www.enrico-gatti.com/index.php/enrico-gatti/scritti/6-scritto-1
In reply to Benefit of inventory by Shoichi
In which case the next version of MuseScore will support this directly, see http://musescore.org/en/node/15183
In reply to In which case the next by Jojo-Schmitz
Figured Bass. It helps if you post the whole page but it looks to me as if the bottom stave is a guitar or lute continuo realization of the line above which is the bass line. The top line looks to be a viola line. Can you post a link to the original page?
Accidentals above the bass refer to the third above the bass and indicate whether the chord is major or minor. I think the natural above the fourth beat is incorrect and should be a sharp. The arranger has not added a natural to the continuo part so the last chord is A major, like the second chord of the bar.
The accidentals are put there for the player of the continuo part (harpsichord, theorbo, guitar, organ etc.) who would be able to improvise his own arrangement instead of playing the realization give in the bottom stave. I would expect there to be numbers above the stave such as 6, 6/4, etc. at other points in the score.
In reply to Figured bass by Myer
it is exactly as you surmised, the top is a Viola with the bass beneath.
The third stave is guitar added in the 2005 arrangement.
and yes, there are numbers above some of the stave also.
Thank you, I believe that is the answer I was looking for.
I have substitued another guitar for the viola in my arrangement, but without the accidentals or numbers above the bass stave at the moment.
The image is from Praetorius La Bouree XXXII.
with my progress to date here, http://musescore.com/user/114629/scores/169345.
In 1600 there was only the 2 upper staves.
The clavicordist played the basso, adding the arrangement, and the sharps or flats told him if the third had te be major or minor (that is nowadays used in jazz, with other notations)
The third staff is (2005?) arrangement, written down,(in the key of G1 which duly take in account these indications. This arrangement takes in account the fact that in 1600 accidentals were not measure long valid. So in the left measure
D with a F# ; A with C# ; D with a F# ; A with C natural
Would have been easier if you had shipped the whole page
In reply to indeed ciphered bass by robert leleu
Here is the first page of the piece,
Hope it give an idea, but I think you have answered my original question just from that small snippet.
I have substituted another guitar, and is uploaded here.
http://musescore.com/user/114629/scores/169345
Work in progress, as I learn about both Musescore and music in general.
In reply to Here it is. by murray45a
The point I did not get from the snippet is that the realization was for guitar
In reply to Here it is. by murray45a
Just to confirm this is indeed figured bass.
Regarding the natural sign in bar 13: In 1600 minor keys were only just being establised, and the old church modes still had a high degree of influence on music. Consequently there was a degree of ambiguity about the sharpening or flattening of the 3rd of the Dominant chord, which is why the figures indicate an A minor chord whilst the Dominant chords earlier in the bar are marked as major.
To add to the confusion, this ambiguity was applied to the performance, and performers played the leading note sharp or flat depending on how they felt on that particular occasion. This could result in both being played at once :)
For an illustration of this look at English church music of the period where very often one part will sharpen the leading note and another have it flat. Consequently English church music of the period tends to be riddled with false relations as the modern system of keys had note been invented.
Hope this sheds a little light :)
In reply to Just to confirm this is by ChurchOrganist
this notification was included on a modern (2004) arrangement of the piece if, as I seem to understand, is now redundant.
thank you to all for their insight and clarification.
In reply to I wonder why by murray45a
if someone wants to play "old way" with just the bass line … and these alterations above.
The redundant part is the one for these ignorant modern guitarists !