Have you ever encountered sheet music that looks quite different from standard notation? Guitar students from Hong Kong sometimes bring such notation, featuring a unique system that, while initially perplexing, is surprisingly logical once understood. This system offers an alternative way to represent music, particularly for guitar.
One distinctive feature is the use of cross-headed notes above the tablature (TAB) stave. These aren’t as complicated as they might first appear. They indicate the strings to be picked for arpeggiated chords, with the chord itself written above the TAB. Arrows are used to denote the number of strings to strum for these chords, providing a clear visual guide for rhythm and chord voicing.
Below the guitar TAB, you’ll find numbers representing the melody line, whether it’s a vocal melody or an instrumental intro. Instead of standard pitch names, these numbers correspond to the degrees of the scale within the key of the music. For instance, in G Major, ‘1’ signifies G, ‘2’ represents A, ‘3’ is B, and so on. This is akin to the movable do solfège system, where numbers represent scale degrees rather than fixed pitches, hence the notation ‘1=G’ at the beginning, indicating the key center.
To address octave variations, dots are cleverly employed. A dot above a number indicates a note in a higher octave, while no dot signifies the middle octave. Conversely, a dot below a number denotes a lower octave. Although not as precise as conventional notation in pinpointing exact octaves, this method works remarkably well for melodies, especially vocal lines which typically reside within a three-octave range.
Rhythmic values are also clearly indicated. Quavers and semi-quavers are represented by beam lines beneath the melody numbers, similar to standard notation. Rests are shown by dashes, maintaining a consistent visual language throughout the notation.
This numbered musical notation, also known as Jianpu, presents a fascinatingly different approach to reading music, especially for guitarists exploring diverse musical traditions. It’s a testament to the various ways music can be visually represented and understood. For further exploration into this system, resources like the Wikipedia page on Numbered musical notation offer valuable insights.
