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| Sai Ma (Horse Race) written in Western notation? - Erhu - Other Instruments - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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boomike Approved
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I've been asked to write a concert band accompaniment of Sai Ma (Horse Race) for a band going to China in three weeks. I know that the work is a popular erhu piece, but I haven't been able to find a score written in Western notation of the erhu part. There will be an erhu soloist performing the piece with the band, but the band needs to rehearse the piece with an alternate instrument playing the solo before they get to China. Does anyone have access to such a score? Is it available as a .pdf file? Also, since the keys erhus typically play in aren't that good for concert bands, is it possible to take the piece up a half step to make it better for concert band and still be good for the erhu soloist? (Would they just move up a half position on the strings?) Thank you.
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davidmdahl Approved
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Welcome to the forum, boomike. You have an interesting project. Sai Ma is written for the key of F. A half-step up from that (Gb) would be a very strange key for erhu, and I think even uncommon for band (wind ensemble?). It has been too long for me to remember what keys are managable for band. I think that it would be a difficult thing for the erhu player to perform Sai Ma in an other key at all, let alone on short notice. The question should be posed to the soloist though. Maybe he or she could find a solution. Standard erhu strings can be tuned down a step without too much trouble. If the soloist tuned down a step it would sound in the key of Eb, which should not be a problem for a band. I don't think that erhu strings can be raised very high without a great risk of breakage. Maybe a skilled erhu master could come up with a solution, if you are able to work it out ahead of time. I would not suggest springing this on the soloist the day of the concert. I don't know of a score for Sai Ma in staff notation, but I will do some checking. It shouldn't take that long to transcribe though. If you have a notation program, you then print out the score in any key that you settle on. Good luck! Best wishes, David
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boomike Approved
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Thank you, David. I just assumed the piece was originally written in the key of D, not F. The key of F would be very good for the band. I'd love to keep it identical to how erhu players already know the piece. I've found the solo on the Internet in traditional Chinese notation, but I would have less of a chance to make mistakes if I could find it already notated in Western notation. My problem is that I'm not familiar with the Chinese notation method.
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davidmdahl Approved
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The Chinese notation "jianpu" is actually quite simple. The numbers you see in the notation are the actual scale degree. So, in the key of F, "1" is the note "F". Likewise, "5" is the note "C". The octave above or below the central octave is indicated with a dot above or below the note (number). Length values are indicated by lines under the notes. These lines correspond to the flags on notes in western staff notation. Check out the wikipedia.org article on jianpu for an excellent and thorough explanation. I think that you will find it is pretty easy. Don't let it intimidate you. It is not necessary to understand Chinese. The fingering indications can be ignored, since your arrangement is for a differnet instrument. You can check your work by listening to a recording of Sai Ma. If you need it slowed down, use one of the several inexpensive software programs for this. d e f g a b c d e f g a b c d e Staff notation . . . . . . . 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jianpu notation . . It should be possible to hack out Sai Ma in staff notation in a couple of hours. There is a lot of repetition, so cutting and pasting will save time. Best wishes, David Last edited on Mon May 19th, 2008 06:53 am by davidmdahl |
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boomike Approved
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I understand the interval thing, but I'm curious about the little dots and other notations to express rhythm. Can you enlighten me about that? I found one easy-to-read example at the following. http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=5734&forum_id=50
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davidmdahl Approved
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Please check out the article on jianpu at http://www.wikipedia.org as I suggested. There is an excellent discussion about the note values as well as the dots. Feel free to post follow-up questions. Best wishes, David
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boomike Approved
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Thank you. I understand the process now. But I've only been able to find the jianpu notation for the piece on two sites...one is a .pdf file that is so faint I can't read it and the other has notation so small it comes out blurry when I print it. Might anyone be able to steer me to a site that has "Horse Race" in a larger, easier-to-read format?
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davidmdahl Approved
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Most of the notation I have found on the Internet is as you have found. Tunes that are several pages long are on one image. Of course, this is a problem if you want to print the tune for use. I don't know if there is a more elegant solution, but I use a graphics program to divide up the image. I could do it for you, but it will have to wait until tomorrow or so. I have a gig tonight and a lesson tomorrow. It does not take too much time, so maybe I can fit it in somewhere. If someone has a better idea than using a graphics program like ThumbsPlus to divide up downloaded jianpu scores, I would like to hear about it. Best wishes, David Last edited on Wed May 21st, 2008 06:27 pm by davidmdahl |
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davidmdahl Approved
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I checked and found that I already have a reasonable readable 2 page pdf of Sai Ma. Please send me your email address privately and I will send you the pdf. Best wishes, David
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boomike Approved
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davidmdahl wrote:I checked and found that I already have a reasonable readable 2 page pdf of Sai Ma. Please send me your email address privately and I will send you the pdf. Done. Thank you much.
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karl Approved
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Sai Ma in staff notation  
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boomike Approved
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Wow. Thank you.
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KenK Approved
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Karl- That's great~!! Thank you for putting that up.  Do you have any other Chinese songs in standard notation? I have an idea of trying the pipa classica "Ambush on All Sides" on guitar. I think it would translate pretty well. Ken
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Clyde Approved 
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God Bless Last edited on Thu Jul 10th, 2008 06:27 am by Clyde |
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karl Approved
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Boomike, I found a better one at http://www.music30.com/qilelepu/gangqinqupu/11883.html It is a violin/piano and quality more clearer.
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karl Approved
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Here's another song 二泉映月 (Er Quan Ying Yue) The Moon Reflected on the Second Springs http://www.music30.com/qilelepu/gangqinqupu/11836.html in staff notation.
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karl Approved
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Ambush on All sides http://www.music30.com/qilelepu/jitaqupu/1187.html I think this is a guitar notation since it say "TAB" but not 100% sure since I don't play guitar. If you want to see this played with electric guitar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so93-hoMlRo
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boomike Approved
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VERY nice! Thank you much.
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KenK Approved
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karl wrote: Ambush on All sidesHi Karl- Thanks for those links. Very interesting to see it played on electric guitar. The guy even had a pipa like sound. I couldn't find the score to "Ambush" though. I went to site and even translated it through google, but I never saw a score for Ambush. I did look at other guitar scores though- Most of them were a mix of "tab" and jianpu. Very interesting. KenK
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AllenZ Approved 
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KenK wrote: karl wrote:Ambush on All sidesHi Karl- Ken, The link Karl gave you for "Ambush" isn't the classic pipa one, its the Hong Kong pop song from Eason Chen..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjEGjXzWqG0 Last edited on Sun May 25th, 2008 09:48 am by AllenZ ____________________ To hell with circumstances. I create opportunities. "You're lucky Buddhism teaches freedom from desire, because I've got the desire to kick your ass!" - Richard Gere Where I'm from? A little town called None Of Your Goddamn Business. |
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