Classical Guitar Tablature

CLASSICAL GUITAR TABLATURE
Thomas NiemannPREFACE
The first music I studied for guitar included folk songs such as Freight Train. Later I tried my hand at classical music. This was a painful experience. Despite much persistence I was unable to read music. At the same time I was easily learning folk music from tablature. As an experiment I translated tude in D to tablature. Within a month I was playing the piece fluently. tude in D is still one of my favorites. Another song I especially enjoy is the Gymnopedie, by Satie. I’m afraid I played this piece obsessively while I was learning it. The other pieces are fairly easy, as I never progressed past the advanced beginner stage. If you study any songs, and want to bring a smile to my face, send me some email. If you can read music, or would like to learn, I recommend Frederick Noad’s book on Solo Guitar Playing.

THOMAS NIEMANN Portland, Oregon web site: epaperpress.com

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION WARMUPS
Freight Train In Christ There Is No East or West Asturias

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6 7 9

SIX EASY PIECES
Adelita tude in D Gymnopedie #1 Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring Lagrima Romance

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11 12 14 15 16 17

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Introduction
Guitar tablature is an alternative method used to represent music, and dates in history from transcriptions for the Lute. Six lines are drawn, one for each string. Unless otherwise indicated, it is assumed that the strings are tuned E-A-D-G-B-E. Notes to be played are indicated by the fret on the corresponding string. For example, The House of The Rising Sun starts something like this:
E———–0———–0———–2——–B———1—1——-1—1——-3—3——G——-2——-2—0——-0—2——-2—-D—————————–0————–A—–0———–3————————–E——————————————–(1st (2nd (3rd (4th (5th (6th string) string) string) string) string) string)

The very first note is an A played on the 5th string (open). The next note is an A on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. Usually, an attempt is made to make the spacing between the notes reflect the amount of time the note should be played. When a barre is required, it is indicated as margin notes, as shown in the next measure:
I========== ———–1———–0—————————–1—1——-1—1————————-2——-2—2——-2—————————————————————–1———–0———————————————————————-2 2 3 1 1 3

Here, a barre is required on the 1st fret for the duration indicated. Traditionally, barre’s are indicated using roman numerals. In addition, right-hand fingering is sometimes included where the passage is tricky, or has more than one interpretation. Two other symbols commonly used include hammer-on and pull-off indications. The following illustrates these techniques:
—–0-h-2——-2-p-0—————————3———–3——————————-2———–2—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

In this measure, the E is originally played open, and then hammered to F#. This is followed by the reverse operation, where the F# is pulled-off to an E. For notes high on the neck, I’ve adopted the following nomenclature:
Symbol A B C D Fret 10 11 12 13

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Warmups

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