Thinking on the Lute:
Arranging, Transposing and Memorizing
You're accompanying a soprano in a performance of John
Dowland's "Come Again." The concert's at eight, you're first on,
and at seven-thirty she walks in and says, " I've got a cold; could
you put that down a whole step?" If your ans\Mer would be "No,"
then this article is for you.
Now presumably, any professional player could rise to
this occasion. However, I think many amateur lutenists could also
do so by ernploying no more than what they have known for years.
They just don't think that way. 'Why not? I believe the fundamen-
tal reason is that the lute is not usually presented or initially taught
as the improvisatory instrument it historically is. This subject is
sometimes addressed in later stages of shrdy or at the professional
level, but improvising has not become a fundamental part of mod-
'When
ern lute study. I say o'improvisatory" I am not speaking of
being able to make up your own divisions, as impressive as that
can be, but rather, being able to think through the instrument. The
subject is sometimes addressed later on, but seldom at the forma-
tive stage, when a mind-set is best created. This way a sfudent of
six months should be able to put the chord progression of the
Frog Galliard into three idiomatic keys, however slowly.
This mind-set in no way runs counter to an involvement
with the solo literature that has attracted most players to the in-
strurnent in modern times, but rather, informs it. V/ith this ap-
proach, "You're not just gonna plain repeat that are you?" an in-
ner voice might say. Solutions to frequently encountered prob-
lems start to suggest themselves. Take the lute songs: a tedious
number of verses if unvaried? Vary them. Awkward pauses? Fill
them in. Bad underlay in the settings of all verses but the first?
Adjust something.
How to start? For most of the readers of this article it
would be a matter of relating their familiarity with the lute to the
theory they already know. They are often both in place but not
integrated. I am assumig the following theoretical knowledge:
(1) how to construct a major scale (and how minor scales and
modes are derived from ir), (2) how to construct major and minor
triads, and (3) where major and minor triads fall within a major
scale, (I-N-V major, II-ffi-VI minor, and let's forget VII for now.)
Ifyou don't know this it is fairly simple to learn. That much theory
can be learned relatively easily. Be aware that the tablature sys-
tem, for all its obvious advantages, is partly the cause for this non-
integration, because it requires no theoretical knowledge. Just put
your fingers here, then here, then here, and \iow, isn't that gor-
geous? Very gratiring indeed, and you don't have to think for
two seconds.
Teacher: Do you realize that's a G chord with the third in the
bass that you're playing?
Student: (looks down) Oh, yeah,I guess it is.
Teacher: do you realize that's a one-six two five one progression
you're playing?
May & August, 2003
by Carver Blanchard
Student: IJh...
Teacher: You'd probably reco gnize it in a pop song.
Such rcalizations are indispensable if one wants to se-
curely rnemorize,transpose or arrange anything. The too-bad part
is that many of these students do know what first inversion triads
and standard chord progressions ae - they just don't know how
to apply this knowledge to their lute playing.
I would suggest a two-pronged approach to the problem;
first, working with chord forms independently and second, relat-
ing those forms to the music you have been playing. There are, in
fact, chord forms on the lute, but they are not universally em-
'What
ployed the same way they are on the guitar. you don't have
on the lute to the same degree as you do on the guitar are wholly
moveable large forms. That said, there are three major-minor forms
on the lute that might be considered basic large forms from which
smaller forms are also derived. They are the forms that are prob-
ably familiar to many finding their roots on the sixth, (G chord)
fifth, (C chord) and fourth (F chord) courses:
GGmCCmFFm
*tfl.rab
a fL
The problem for former guitarists is that these forms are seldom
wholly moved up, for two reasons. First, you're seldom playing
all the notes in the form, and second, there's usually a better \May
to get to a parallel structure than to move even a small form up or
down. For example, let's say you wanted move a voicing of C
mrnor: at to D minor. Why bar that up when this: C
T' -il
4.
t
T
would sound better and give you more mobility to play The
temporary problem is that the resultant D minor bears"** almost no
visual resemblance to the former C minor, This is entirely charac-
teristic of the lute and takes some getting used to. Another ex-
ample; let's say you want C minor with the root on the top course,
i.e. fifth fret. A guitarist might choose to move good old E-minor
up five frets. Much better on the lute would be:
f
T
Cm ..8_ or with a strum:
il
23
 The derivation of this partial form(root on 6th course) is not Generically this becomes I-IV-I(3rd in bass) llmin 7 Y(7th)- I.
apparent when so disembodied. This approach can be taken on find the chord progression anywhere on the instrurnent, tempo
the guitar too, and indeed is taken by more sophisticated arang- disregarding the voicings, including the non-root bass notes.
ers for the instrument. They think the way lutenists are com- major you might come up with, say:
pelled to think
It therefore emerges that the best way to think about F Bb F Gm7C7 F
chord forms on the lute is to abandon the notion of large move-
able forms altogether and focus on how small strucfures work
with the instrument's lower courses. Let me give two examples,
the first using open lower courses, a I-V progression in F major
played four \Mays:
FtoC: "f
Then see if you can reproduce the voicings of the original. Inl
case, "Come Again" moved one step down, the voicings ofttc
, t. accompaniment in G can be reproduced essentially.

My second example returns to a strucfure mentioned F Bb FIA Gm7 C7 F

earlier in the article, G major with the third in the bass, and in-
volves fingered lower courses:
6
E --
GIB would be:
That's the first phrase in F. Now, just for the exercir

sticking with the frst phrase, return to G major and vary the
Ifyou want to move that same structure up or down a whole step, ing. Try this:
doing so on the same courses is out of the question. However,
the f,orms which result from moving logically in either direc- G C/GG Am D D7G
tion, again,bear not the slightest visual resemblance to the former
Bfesc,r
r
one, fT
fr
FIA would be: IT and AIC# would be:

trc
f,
fr
T_
A process such as this is valuable even if you have no in
I have given these examples in order to deonstrate the varying the accompaniment from that which is written. l'c
first part of my suggested process, which is exploring chord for- probably find something that is attractive and useftil. H
mations abstractly. This naturally dovetails with the second patr, you decide to stay with nothing but the original at least it
relating these forms to music you are now playing. You will matter of choice rather than compulsion. And, you will
inevitably come across some of the forms you have figured out cured a firmer grasp of where you are going in the piecc
and encounter new forms which you will now be inclined to provided by the tablature alone.
view more independently."This experience usually instills a pro- The benefits of this approach for memorizatian
gressive inclination to want to figure out what's going on in the elaboration. rvhat it comes down to is knowing where the
music at all times, which takes less and less time, until playing going rather than knowing only where your fingers are goinG
and analysis fnally become practically simultaneous. the latter, each formation becomes the trigger for the
Now, back to our song for the evening and the soprano,s one, and you might be lost. However, if you know the ".*
request. Most of the chordal material for the whole song is found and you can find that in a number of places, you have a
in the first section. freedom and security that is otherwise lacking.
came again, sweet love doTh now The benefits of this approach for arranging irre
in -vite... apparent. An alrangement can be defned at its most basic
G C GiB Am7D7 G ting (not necessarily harmon ization) of a melody for a giu
af, cal medium. According to paul Odette, ninety percent c
the solo Renaissance lute literature falls into this cat
ever complex the middle voices. you can get a start on rhc
by initially eliminating the inner voices altogetheE and si
f, fr ing the bass note and melody to any song of your choosi
#t fl doing you will confront the first decision that an arransctr

24
instrument has to mak have I chosen the right key? You needn't
try your first melody note on the first course, but it's a good place
to start. If you quickly run out of range at the top or bottom, you'll
have to try another key, until you find what that works best for you.
Richard Fletcher
You might be surprised at how complete a song sounds on
the lute with a bass line and melody only. This is partly due to the
overtones generated by the double courses. Once that is determined, Renaissance and
try to grab a supportive inner chordal tone. You might do this by
eat, or by knowledge of a chord formation. There's no magic bullet Baroque Lutes
here, it's a more or less informed grope, the more informed the
better. One success, or even parttal success, begets another, and
Archlutes and Theorbos
you'll become increasingly more prepared to face that singer when
she walks in at7:30 with a cold and asks you to put Come Again
down a whole step, or even a third, or a fourth. . .
Among the greatest benefits of going through this process
is an increased understanding and appreciation of how a man like
Dowland made the choices he did. In fact, it is hard to imagine
coming to a truly ftill appreciation otherwise. Besides, it's ftin and
surprisingly easy. A varieff of formations quickly become a famil-
iar bag of tricks to be used in all sorts of ways. Beyond that, it is
highly authentic uh, isn't it? RD 'l , Box B3
-
Roaring Branch, PA 7 7765
(570) s24-6447
pa I utes@ti co pa . g u i k, co m
pa I utes @ti co pa, q u i k. co m

Ifrts is an?uestionaty a cycte of majorsngcance. Carln is an oatstandng etonent, pkflg wt/ aiffuenqt an[
cbn'ty gf arttcufation tiat affows trte composer's contrapuntaf intracies to emerge m a naturaf mustcafway, [fre soun[
u foaety, tie a;t/e range qf tiz nstramentb sonontL tdi:affl caVnre[615fr8's engineet
l. Gavotte in d minor* Brian Robbins, Fanfare Magazine
2. Menuet in d minor*
3. Prlude and fugue in E b major
4. Menuet and Trio in G major*
5. Bourre in F major*
6. Tombeau sur la mort de M. Comte de Logy
7, Prlude in C major
8. Fantaisie in C major
9. Menuet in C major*
10. Gavotte in C major*
11. Capriccio in D"major* (complete version)
12. Menuet I in D major*
13. Menuet II in B minor*
I 4. Mademoiselle Tiroloise
ler Concert d'un luth avec la flte traversire**
15. Adagio*
16. Allegros
17. Grave*
18, Allegro*
*Premiere recording according to the Peter Van Dessel Catalogue,
June 2003
** Flute reconstnrctions : 15 : M.Cardin
16,17,18 : E.Hadidian, C.Laflamme, M.Cardin

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T h e L ond*n Ma,ru, crptt, Vol.arne r7.

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