A justification for Lyra viol music

As a publisher, composer, and performer of lyra viol music, I would like to comment upon the question of the popularity of lyra viol music. First, in all of my editions of lyra viol music, I reminded the reader that these works, for the most part, were intended to be the basis of improvisations. Adding my own ornamentations, adding new music, repeating phrases out of order as the mood strikes me, and stringing together two or more similar works has been an invaluable means to produce longer works. This process requires some facility with improvisation, a skill that is rarely taught.

For about 3 years, I performed solo lyra viol music in Half Moon Bay, California in a small venue with art galleries. Because the space was small enough, and my instrument was loud enough, I did not need a microphone. There, the space was small enough for people to hear me and yet they could mill around. I was always surprised with the immediate positive response of my playing. While I rarely put out a hat, I always waked away with enough money to make my effort pay, if only modestly. Parents would talk to their children about the funny looking cello. Often, the children would dance in front of me. I even transcribed a few children's songs and encouraged them to sing. That was also a big hit. After playing, I handed out a sheet with a brief history of the viola da gamba, and lyra viol music. So, all in all, I can say that lyra viol music has a popular appeal. It just takes the right setting and an ability to quickly change to unexpected circumstances.

As for my lyra viol editions, I am sorry to say that I have not had any orders for over 3 years. Even after publishing my website, I have had not orders from Boulder Early Music. I cannot guess what that is all about. I was delighted to see that other editions of lyra viol music have been published since I began publishing. I stopped publishing because I could not find any new sources of lyra viol music. Not being associated with a university, I do not have the ability to borrow much material using interlibrary loan. But, if my editions start selling again, I hope to produce a new edition from time to time.

As a last and very obvious point, learning to play lyra viol music requires relearning how to play the instrument and read from tablature. I taught myself after studying with Carol Herman and Tina Chauncy. I had a firm grounding in lyra viol music from Herman and basic gamba playing technique from both teachers. I also relied upon my years of playing double bass. I then spent about 2 years practicing seriously for about 4 hours each day and trying to figure out all the strange ornament signs. I quickly came to the inescapable conclusion that composer X was not always consistent in his use of signs and composer Y used different signs for the same ornament. This lack of constancy, at first, confused me to no end. Then, I realized that if no two historical sources agreed on what a sign meant, it meant I was free to use whatever ornament I felt was appropriate for a passage. Yes, that is somewhat out of the dictates of modern scholarship, but I felt totally justified by the quality of the music that I produced. Fortunately, the Playford editions were one of the few sources of consistent usage. That is why I published the Playford editions.

I do have an issue with the use of the straight line below two or more notes often referred to as a hold. I have recently posted an article (go there) documenting my research within the Playford editions showing that the mark is a slur mark. This mark is consistently used in all the sources I've examined. Within the Playford edistions, one cannot justify this mark as being anything but a slur mark after looking at extended sixteenth note runs up and down a single string with the mark below. In other words, the passage is all too often a written out ornament and ornaments should be played in a single bow stroke, at least in my opinion.

The least expensive collection of my lyra viol editions is Playford's Musicall Banquet (1651). This edition has only 27 pieces and is very good for beginners. The first piece in that collection is just a scale. I also strongly recommend buying Carol Herman's Alphabet Soup and Martha Bishop's Tab for One. These are great books for beginners.

Learning to play lyra viol music, some basic suggestions.

Here are a few basic features that beginning lyra viol musicians will need. First, you will need a good teacher to help you with learning to play your instrument. This is critical. Second, you will need to learn how to return your instrument. In almost all editions, the music will be accompanied by a set of letters such as ffeff. This is a shorthand way to tell you how to tune your instrument. Read the letters from right to left and from top to bottom string. Note that there are only 5 letters. The first or previous string is always played unstopped. F maps to the fourth fret. Place your finger on the fourth fret of the second string and at the same time bow that string and the first string. The second f is played on the third string and at the same time, bow the open second string. These notes should be the same. The e is associated with the fourth string. You will find that this tuning is the standard tuning for the viola da gamba. At least 23 other tunings exist. Some are truly bizarre.

The best way to learn to play lyra viol music is to get some examples and figure out how to play melodies first. Then, learn to play the chords in that piece. You will find that not all lyra viol music uses chords. Do not be frustrated by however long it takes you to relearn your fingerboard. At first, I diagramed the fret board to learn what note went with what letter. This is probably the worst thing that I could have done to learn to read from tab. Never ask yourself "Am I playing a c# or an e flat?" Ask yourself, "Do I have my finger on the correct fret of the correct string, and is the bow also on that string?"

One thing I strongly advise beginning lyra viol players is to learn how to play the most common chords in the standard gamba tuning. For the bass and treble gamba, these are the C major chord fdaa (read from top to bottom). Play it in a single bow stroke, first up and then down bow. Always play the lowest note in the chord first! This is one of the few things one which all historical sources seem to agree. Then, learn the D major chord accccca followed by the G major chord acdca, and the a minor chord aaac (the top a is for the A string). Once you have these chords under your hand, explore variations of these chords, such as d minor, g minor, A major. From there you can learn less common chords line e minor ccde and b minor cccd (first C is for the A string). The F chord abacd takes a bit of stretching depending upon your instrument. It is one of the more difficult chords.

Next, understand what the letters and lines mean within tablature. The lines mean the strings on the instrument. The top line is the top string. Letters are mapped to the frets. The open string is a. The first fret is b. The second fret is c. When people were creating tablature, they did not distinguish between i and j. So, there is no j in tablature. Only a handful of pieces go above the frets, and fewer still go above the octave. So, most people play above the frets by placing their first finger on the top fret as an anchor.

Historical sources say that one should avoid barring a chord. That is to say, one finger should not be used to hold down multiple strings. This does result in some clarity of tone. But it also means that playing becomes quite cumbersome. As I have a relatively large and powerful hand, I can easily bar full chords. Because of this, I can play very quick passages with little effort.

I generally warm up by playing all the chords I can starting with D major. That exercise takes some time and really strengthens my hands. I also spend time working on producing the most pure bow stroke I can especially changing of directions of the bow.

When you feel adventurous, consider buying the large Playford editions. These editions contain relatively simple music. Follow that by the Mansell and Manchester manuscripts. Follow that with the Bodlean edition. The edition of my own music is the most technically demanding. While it contains many very simple parts, it has some fiendish music. I tried to balance out difficult with easy works.

If you really wish to learn tablature’s ornamental signs, I strongly suggest you buy a copy of Furnas’ dissertation about the Manchester lyra viol manuscript. There is no better source for a discussion of lyra viol ornaments.

In conclusion, learning to play from tablature is, at first, a challenge. But with the right teacher, and some determination, this musical style is easily learned. One must spend some hours just learning how to use the bow. Lyra viol music requires a much more sophisticated use of the bow than in consort playing. The ability to arpeggiate a chord is one of the most rewarding features of lyra viol music. I like the ability to make the instrument growl, whine, or softly and ever so sweetly sing as the music strikes me.