NOTATION 28: Open String Reference & Curiosities

If you are new to reading staff music then this might be a way in for you.

A good place to start might be to memorise where the open strings are found on the staff and use them as a reference, in conjunction with a fretboard diagram, for the surrounding notes.

If this appeals then go back to Notation 1 and Theory 1 and start the journey proper.

By the way, these staves have not always suited composers. Here is an example of a version created by Stockhausen in the 60s to include a spacial element

in case you are interested in how the dots have evolved over the centuries

and the ancient Greeks before them used letters instead

The diagram below reveals that in the 1600s, Lutists in Italy were given tablature to read. Also note their string tuning

These diagrams courtesy of Gardner Read’s book Music Notation.