[BAROQUE-LUTE] Re: Rank Amateur [Exerciser for aging fingers]

[Martin Shepherd]

Thanks to Rob David for saying it so clearly - I agree absolutely.

Two more related things:
1.  It's easy to forget about the LH thumb, where it is, how much 
tension it has in it - but it's very important.
2.  You could think of the stopping hand as being irrelevant to the 
sound, just needed to hold the string securely onto the fret - but you'd 
be wrong.

Martin

LGS-Europe wrote:

Your fingers are more than strong enough.


With pressure, less is more. It is easy to flex a muscle fast. Put 
your hand
in a flame, get stung by a bee or catch a falling lute to try. But it 
takes
time to relax a muscle, we all know that. So to develop speed on a 
lute, we
have to minimize our pressure. I can put down a finger fast enough, but I
cannot lift it fast enough. With less pressure, I can lift faster and my
speed will improve.
Another reason why less pressure is better: with more pressure we feel 
less.
Left and right hand shape the tone together, the only feedback we get 
before
we actually pluck the string is through the contact of our fingertips. 
If we
use more muscle, we feel less. Keep your sense of touch alive by using 
less
pressure, and your tone will improve if you 'listen' to the feedback your
fingertips give you.

David


****************************
David van Ooijen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.davidvanooijen.nl
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