When I started baroque lute 30 years ago (!!), I had difficulty at first, but I learned to accommodate the stretches. On 13 course lute, I seldom rest the pinky on the soundboard, and when playing the first 2 courses with my middle or ring finger (with the thumb on 12th or 13th course), they (ring or ring fingers) are stretched out.
The trick is to not change the sound of the first 2 courses, while stretching deeply. It takes practice. ed At 03:05 AM 10/4/2011, Rob MacKillop wrote: >Enjoying exploring my new 13c, and slowly getting the feel for >right-hand string spacing and thumb placement. I'm determined not to >look at my right hand, just feel my way. So, I've been slowly >growing in confidence...until I read through Weiss' L'Infidele. > >It's years since I listened to anyone play this suite, and it was a >great joy to start reading through the Entree: 'Hey, I can do >this!'. I read the Courante slowly, but thinking it a possibility I >will one day be able to play it up tempo. The Sarabande, like all >Weiss Sarabandes, is sublimely beautiful. The minuet lies under the >fingers. So, I was beginning to think this is a suite I can get my >teeth into. Then I hit the Musette... > >Bar 4 demands the thumb on the 13th course, the index on the 5th and >(presumably) the ring finger on the 1st. The string band on my lute >is 153mm, and I have large hands. I should be able to do this, but >is is very hard. I can manage it, but, clearly, at a stretch. 153mm >does not seem excessive, and is pretty much bang in the middle of >all surviving 13c bridges, in other words an average size. Will >practise of this passage make my stretch longer? > >Anyone else have problems with this passage? I seem (in desperation, >maybe) to recall someone arguing that originally the low A was up an >octave at the 6th course, and the 13th course was written in later. >Any info on that? > >Rob MacKillop > > >www.robmackillop.net > > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html Edward Martin 2817 East 2nd Street Duluth, Minnesota 55812 e-mail: e...@gamutstrings.com voice: (218) 728-1202 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1660298871&ref=name http://www.myspace.com/edslute http://magnatune.com/artists/edward_martin
