Child’s play! Lyre tablatures are musical notations specifically adapted by our team for this instrument. Horizontal lines describe the strings, while dots indicate which strings to play. The color of these dots guides you in choosing which fingers to use. Additionally, the dots are organized between vertical lines to mark the time and indicate when to play the notes. A visual and intuitive approach suitable for everyone, even without knowledge of musical notation.

We provide detailed instructions to guide you through the tuning process of your lyre in the Starter Tutorial for 6-string lyres and in the Starter Tutorial for 7-string lyres. This way, you can easily adapt your instrument to our tablatures in just a few minutes.

The tablature system we have developed for you is simple and effective to the extent that it largely allows for self-initiation and achieving excellent results without the need for a teacher. However, some aspects of higher-level tablatures will require the guidance of a teacher and a course to be played perfectly, as is the case with the technique of harmonics marked with a white dot on certain tablatures. We invite you to participate in our online classes or workshops to refine your technique and benefit from personalized guidance.

Absolutely! Our tablatures are designed to be simple and accessible, without requiring in-depth knowledge of music theory. Even beginners can start playing quickly thanks to our user-friendly approach organized in three levels.

Our tablatures are adapted for a variety of 6-string lyres (Lyre de Trossingen, Lyre de Sutton Hoo, Lyre de Cologne, Lyre d’Oberflacht, etc.) and 7-string lyres (Lyre gauloise-celtique, Lyre de Kravik, Lyre Grecque, etc.). You can easily adapt your preferred instrument by following our instructions available in the Starter Tutorial for 6-string lyres and the Starter Tutorial for 7-string lyres.

It is also possible to adapt lyres with more than 7 strings. For this, we recommend the Starter Tutorial for 7-string lyres, where you have two options:

1. Tune the first 7 strings as recommended and play all the tablatures, leaving the extra strings untouched.

2. Follow the same procedure as described in option 1 but attempt, if you wish, to tune the additional strings in the modal sequence. This will allow you to play all the tablatures and even enhance them with the additional strings according to your inspiration.

In the Shop section, you can choose the Starter Tutorial that best suits your instrument based on its number of strings (6, 7, or +). With the Starter Tutorial, you will receive your first tablature as a bonus!

Absolutely! The tablature system we have developed can serve as a foundation for creating your own original compositions for non-commercial use. Unleash your creativity using our notations as a starting point. In return, we appreciate your kindness towards us and kindly ask you to credit Lyre Academy for any usage.

After your purchase, the tablature will appear in the library of your customer space. You can then use it anytime and on any device through our viewer, allowing you to freely access the interactive content of your favorite tablatures (music, links, videos, etc.).

The tablatures are interactive multilingual documents. You can activate the French or English version at your convenience by clicking on the flag of your choice at the top of the page, in the menu bar next to the Connect/Disconnect button.

It is also possible to adapt lyres with more than 7 strings. To do this, we recommend the Starter Tutorial for 7-string lyres, with which you will have two options:

1 – Tune the first 7 strings as recommended and play all the tablatures, leaving the other strings untouched.

2 – Follow the same procedure as described in option 1, but attempt, if you wish, to tune the additional strings in the modal sequence. This will allow you to play all the tablatures and even enhance them with the additional strings according to your inspiration.

Traditional ancient and medieval lyres come in a variety of strings, shapes, and proportions. Additionally, there are numerous fantasy instruments from Asia with 7/10/16 strings, and so on.

Unlike most instruments such as the piano or guitar, which have been standardized in their manufacturing, leading to the production of identical objects, the history of lyres tells a different story. In ancient times and the Middle Ages, lyres were not necessarily manufactured based on dimensions and proportions for commercial drawings aimed at mass production or educational networks. Instead, they were crafted on a custom basis, taking into account the anatomy, pitch range, and repertoire of the musician for whom the instrument was intended. (Those were the good times! Long before artisans succumbed to the allure of industry, and artists sold their souls to become its apostles). While this approach is beautiful and noble, it is challenging to align it with current practices, especially when there is no standardization, and each instrument produces a unique sound.

This is why, if we had employed the classical music notation method, where, for example, we would have asked for an E, Jeremy with his Trossingen lyre could certainly achieve it. However, it would be impossible for Mathilde, who owns a Cologne lyre.

Therefore, we have opted for a universal tuning chart that allows everyone to identify the pitch range of their instrument. Once the line corresponding to your instrument is identified in the chart, you simply play the tablature. Unlike sheet music that indicates the notes to play, the tablature shows the strings to play. Since your instrument is tuned in the correct mode, it works, regardless of your instrument.

The beauty of the lyre lies in its many faces. We do not doubt that a day will come when, for noble or perhaps not-so-noble reasons, people will standardize the manufacturing and form, creating a standardized instrument for which sheet music can be written—similar to the guitar and piano. But until that day comes, tablature remains the most effective and universal means of sharing this method that we have worked hard to create for you over the past 20 years.

It is possible to print our tablatures using the button provided for this purpose, which you will find at the bottom of your viewer. However, it is not possible to download the tablatures, firstly for reasons of copyright, as we have in the past been victims of untimely sharing from individuals who lacked benevolence and did not respect our work. Finally, and above all, this format allows us to maintain access to the document so that, without even knowing it, our elves maintains the interactivity of your tablatures, keeps the links active, and continually enriches your content to offer you the best possible experience!