Mixed Style

Notation

The mixed style (called battute e pizzicate in Italian) appeared in print in the 1630s and combines strummed chords with individually plucked notes. Most of the printed tablatures use a combination of Italian lute tablature and the standard alfabeto letters:

Bartolotti 1655 notation example

The small vertical dashes on the first staff line indicate down strums (below the line) or up strums (above the line). Full chords are indicated by letters ("B" = a C major chord in open position; "D" = the common A minor chord), while chords using less than five courses are written out in tablature, as are individually plucked notes. [Foscarini 1640, p. 92]


© Copyright Gary R. Boye 1995–2024

© Copyright Gary R. Boye 1995–2022

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