Daniel, It would be worthwhile getting a teacher to guide you through these early stages, but I appreciate that there might not be any teachers in your area. In that case you will have to start analysing the natural movements of each hand very carefully, because if you try to ask the hand to do something it was not designed to do, then you will cause tension which will affect the music and you might possibly even injure yourself.
How you hold the instrument is of prime importance. If, for instance, the neck of the lute is parallel to the ground you must approach the fingerboard with the palm of your left hand facing in towards your body or face. On the other hand, if you hold the lute like a classical guitarist, with a footstool, with the neck at a 45 degree angle to the floor, then your hand might be less angled in towards your body. There are many subtle degrees in between. As a beginner, you will spend a lot of time in first or second position. The hand must be flexible in its approach to the fingerboard. When there are two notes far apart on the same fret, you often have two options: either do as Vance said and use a barre - the index finger lies flat across the strings, or play both notes with different fingers but angle your hand differently, maybe with the palm facing the middle of your body instead of the upper part. It all depends on what comes before and after these notes. What I am trying to stress is that they way you hold the instrument and the way you approach the fingerboard are VERY important, and you should aim to be as relaxed as possible. Any problems you have will probably result from asking your arm, hand and fingers to do something they were not designed to do, or you are using too much pressure. Most of us use far more pressure than is needed. Rob MacKillop 2008/5/8 Daniel Ramey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Greetings All, > > > > I am a rare poster to this list, but I was practicing last night and > found an interesting issue cropping up. I am a beginning lute player and > most of the songs I have learned to this point have been out of the DeGroot > "Learning to play the lute" book. This is the one that came with my EMS > lute. Now, I have another book of 31 pieces for the Renaissance Lute, and > those are a bit more complex. Well, I was feeling brave and attempted a > couple last night. I quickly found the left hand fingering patterns to be > more than I bargained for. I realized after a few attempts, that the > tablature showed me everything (which finger to pluck with, which course to > pluck, and which courses should be fingered at which frets). But it did > not > tell me which fingers to use on my left hand! > > > > Are there any general rules for fingering position with the left hand? > I tend to use my pointer finger for the second fret and my middle for the > third, but I find it difficult when I have two or three positions I need to > have depressed, that are on the same fret and vertically far apart. > > > > Any advice would be appreciated, > > > > Thanks, > > Daniel > > > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > --
