The theorbo and its tablature

I noticed that the tablature for theorbo is different to the one I am used to see. I know there are different kinds of tablatures, but the one chosen seems a bit difficult to read.
The ones I have seen the most have 6 lines for the fretted part and notate the unfretted bass notes just by its number, from 7 to 14 (from G2 to G1), this way you save space and don’t wander too much in a 14-lines tablature.

It seems that I am the only one interested in the theorbo tablature problem. I am not that much either, to tell the truth, but I think that maybe it is best not to have any tablature that a sort of wrong one.
The theorbo has only 6 fretted courses, the others are not fretted.

Maybe you could create a new Theorbe in the Edit instruments menue?
according to your wishes.
go to: Library, /Instruments, / New instrument from selection / edit strings and tunings

My understanding is that Dorico displays so many lines in the tablature as strings are defined in the “Edit string and tuning” Dialog. So editing an existing or creating a new instrument definition will make no difference. What is required is an option to show/display a number of lines in the tablatura different to the number of strings in the “Edit string and tuning” Dialog.

but taking Guitar (or another 6 string instrument) rename it to Thorbe2
edit strings and tunings, and doing so would work.
More courage would help. Dorico is quite flexible
I just did it.
By the way; I’ve never seen a cat playing the Thorbe :grinning:

Sorry to say for a theorbo and French lute tablature in general, great though Dorico is, you would be better off with a dedicated program such as Fandango. Just my opinion. You then also get access to lots of score libraries in that format.

https://fandango.musickshandmade.com/pages/fandango

But perhaps you know all this and are compelled to use Dorico for some reason. Forgive me if I am teaching you to suck eggs.

Thank you, I didn’t know Fandango. The idea to use Dorico is that maybe it is easier to write for other instruments as well, for example some sort of baroque-ish Opera.

I think the problem is not the tuning, Dorico is great at that, the problem are the display of the non fretted courses, the seven open strings, which are notated in the French tablature system, the one that uses letters instead of numbers, with the letter “a” and a slash or numbers such as:
a = G
/a = F
//a = E
I don’t know if musescore can do it but I just discovered this and it seems it can do it.

https://musescore.com/user/10806561/scores/5696099

Dorico doesn’t yet support lute/theorbo tablature, but we certainly plan to add it in future.

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If you are going to write a baroque opera in authentic style then give the theorbist a hastily scratched, mostly illegible, figured bass for sight reading on the night. Problem solved. :slight_smile:

More seriously, would you really give theorbo a fully written out continuo part? Unusual.

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Indeed, I’ve never seen them written out. For harpsichord sometimes and only for small ensembles. Anyway I thought it could be nice to have the possibility.