Fingering chart

In Music, a fingering chart is a form symbolic system of musical Notation adapted to a specific instrument, intended for a reading and a realization easier than that of a Partition of music. It is in particular used nowadays for the musical notation of the guitar, but there exist also fingering charts for diatonic accordion and piano. Since the Middle Ages (and certainly even front), they varied according to the instruments and the countries, and one found primarily fingering charts for keyboards, lutes, and song. And let us not forget only the musical notation in the form of partitions which one knows (because it became universal) is also a kind of fingering chart.

The examples below represent modern fingering charts for guitar.

Detail of a fingering chart

Lines

In a fingering chart, there are first of all lines, representing different the cords from instruments with hooped handle (6 cords for a Guitare, 4 to 5 for a Banjo, 4 to 9 for a low etc).

This representation is reversed (high/low) for that which looks at the instrumentalist. The serious cord more being in high during a normal use (horizontal). To note that the left-handeds person generally reverse the order of the cords since they hold the handle on other side.

The instrumentalist will have the good reading by looking at his instrument, for example by naturally posing it on his knees.

Figures

The figures correspond to the boxes delimited by two Frette S joint of the instrument (example: 5 represents the fifth box ranging between hoop 4 and hoops it 5, on the basis of the head of the handle). The instrumentalist will have to support with his fingers in the box indicated to reduce the length of vibration of the cord and thus to vary the height of the note. Figure zero indicates a " twist with vide" who must be scraped without any intervention of the left hand on the handle.

The rate/rhythm and dynamics

To represent the rate/rhythm, one uses the symbol of the poles of the traditional musical notation by simplifying them: a feature with the vertical of the figure announces black, two notes whose vertical features have a right hook or are connected at the end by a horizontal feature are eighth notes, etc the absence of feature means that the figure represents white.

Dynamics ( strong , crescendo , etc) uses also conventions of the traditional musical notation.

Other symbols

X = Transfers: blocked left hand.
T = Thumb: Slap typed with the inch or Tapping .
P = Pop: slap drawn with other that the inch.
H = Hammer: Note played only the left hand (or right-hand side for the left-handeds person) after a note played normally to the top (ex: 5:6).
PO = Sweater-Off: opposite, note played left hand (or right-hand side for the left-handeds person) after a normally played note but to the bottom (ex: 6 po5).
/= Slide going up: slipped from one box or hoops to another with the same finger towards the acute .
\ = Slide going down: slipped from one box or hoops to another with the same finger towards the serious .
~ = Vibrato: to very quickly twist the cord for one returned of note close to the sound vibrato at a Violin.
B = Bend: the cord twists to increase the note without changing box.
PM = Palm Transfers: to use the wrist of the right hand to soften the sound while pressing slightly on the cords close to the Rest.
H = Harmonic: to play the note in harmonic.
AH = Harmonic Artificial: to play an artificial harmonic (with the Médiator)

Note however that there does not exist " code officiel" , each one uses more or less different symbols. There does not exist convention recognized by all.

Instruments

The instruments using the fingering charts are generally instruments with a handle, generally hooped (i.e. comprising Frette S) like the Guitare, the low , the Mandoline, the Balalaïka, the Luth, the Ukulélé, etc One finds also fingering charts for diatonic accordion (in this case the fingering chart mentions the line of the keyboard to be played, the key to be supported, the direction of the bellows (thorough or drawn), the rate/rhythm, as well as the agreements to be played right hand) or the harmonica diatonic.

Differences between fingering chart and partition

The partitions and fingering charts are all two of the marking systems musical which have their own specificities.

Nowadays, " is named; tablature" the system describes above, namely a notation of the music for string instruments scraped with hoops. But at the origin, the word " tablature" indicated all the possible forms of musical notations (which were very numerous through the places, the times, and the instruments). One finds for example many fingering charts for Orgue dating from the Rebirth.

What one names " partition" is thus a fingering chart (with the direction first of the term) originating in Italy which spread because it allows a graphic metaphor of the frequency of the note (the " hauteur" with the sound direction becomes the " hauteur" with the metric direction). Thus the acutest notes are placed in top of the range, and the most serious notes in bottom. In the " tablatures" (with the direction second), the technical side for the instrumentalist prevails since the indications which it bed are specific to its instrument, and are more easily comparable to instructions than with an abstract language. A partition indicates the music to be played (it WHAT), by leaving the choice to the instrumentalist in the way of carrying out it (HOW) for little that this one has several techniques to obtain the same note (the case on a guitar for example). From where the fact that the partitions are used nowadays for all the instruments without exception. A fingering chart does not leave this technical freedom to the instrumentalist. From where the fact that a fingering chart is specific to an instrument or a type of instrument.

See too

Music of organ

External bonds

a course to learn how to read the fingering charts of guitar.

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