Writing standard music into tab

Yes, it'll be relative to the capo. Tuning the G string to F# and capoing at the 3rd fret is quite common in Renaissance lute arrangements such as John Dowland's for a more authentic sound. Dropped D is another common tuning.

So if the notation says lowest E, it'll come out as G because of the capo, but the tab should agree with the notation, i.e., it'll show string 6 open, not string 6 fret 3 and the capo will take care of the actual required pitch. The thing you DO need to be careful about is that G string dropped to F# when converting it to tab.

I figured, but before I started it, thought I would ask those that know more than me. Thanks alot for replaying. I'm excited to get into working with this book.

I'm putting the John Dowland book from guitar to tab so I can play it easier, and I was wondering if the music staff says tune G string down to F# and capo at 3rd, if that's just like any other tab. All notes relative to capo.

So a D on the staff would really be an F due to the tab.

Thanks!

The capo at the 3rd fret more or less replicates Renaissance Lute tuning. If you have a D in your music, keep it as a D in your tab - it's an open 4th string sound and will sound an F with the capo doing its thing.

The F# 3rd string is going to be important. I've tried playing in standard tuning when the score instructs retuning the 3rd string and it's quite often impossible to hold longer notes or get the right fingers in play at the right time, especially in scale runs which occur a lot in Dowland's music.

A :-)

So basically if it's a D, then I want to play the A string at the 5th fret and keep it a D as if I was ignoring the capo? I think I'm getting confused.

So basically if it's a D, then I want to play the A string at the 5th fret and keep it a D as if I was ignoring the capo? I think I'm getting confused.

If you mean at the 5th fret relative to the capo, then YES, or play the 4th string open if that's the better option, (again relative to the capo).
In fact, to avoid confusion while you're writing out the tab, just take the capo OFF. It doesn't figure in the notation or the tab. Then when it's done, stick the capo back on. The piece is played exactly the same (fingering-wise) with or without the capo.
You could choose not to use the capo at all when playing it, or place it on a different fret. But, as we said, the 3rd fret is a common choice for a more authentic 'olde worlde' lute sound.

So basically if it's a D, then I want to play the A string at the 5th fret and keep it a D as if I was ignoring the capo? I think I'm getting confused.

Seems so - if you have a D in the score, Tab it as a D, as though you were playing without the Capo.

When you put the Capo on, the 3rd fret becomes the nut, and when you see a D in the Tab you still play the open 4th string but it sounds an F. The note E will still be at the second fret from the Capo/nut, but willl sound G. G will be at the 5th fret but will sound a Bb etc

A :-)

Okay, thanks, that's what I was doing.

I'm finding that I think the guitar part in this book was supposed to be accompanied by a voice, it just doesn't sound right.....not only that, there are some VERY unusual fingerings that I can't even begin to go between naturally.

At least in the first two songs anyway.

I presume most of the pieces you're working on have come from John Dowland's "Books of Songs and Airs" so you're probably right about it sounding like there should be a vocal line.

Dowland's songs were mostly written for four voices, but they're not unplayable on the guitar; you might just have to make some decisions on where to position your hands on the neck (don't go for open position unless it's definitely where you need to be) and even if you're going to drop some of the harmonies for a while until you've got the melody secure.

A :-)

This is the one that I have. It's written for voice/guitar, and has lute tab has a separate line for voice, then guitar, then the lute tab.

http://www.amazon.com/Lute-Songs-John-Dowland-Including/dp/048629935X