Early Music for the Guitar
by Robert McNamara
This piece is from a manuscript written in the early 17th
century entitled "Terpsichore", by a German composer named Michael
Praetorius. This was a collection of over 300 dance tunes, mainly French,
that he arranged. It was originally meant for the lute, probably a 7-
or 8- course lute, which was the most common in those times. A "course"
was a pair of strings, usually tuned in unison for the treble strings,
or in octaves for the bass strings, much like the present day 12-string
guitar (which would have been a 6-course instrument). The tuning
of the lute was very similar to the guitar, except the pitch was a minor
third higher, and the 3rd string (course) was tuned a half-step lower.
The seventh course would have been equivalent to a "dropped D", and
the eight course would have been a "dropped C". These aren't necessary
for this song, however. It translates quite well to the guitar.
See music transcription below, or download PDF
file.
Listen to the song in Real
Audio.
