We don't know that Dowland played thumb over, he could very likely have played thumb stretched which produces a completely different sound. Try it, it takes 10 minutes to learn. Stretch your thumb as far as it will go, so it is taught, like a bow.
And if thumb under, or "inside" or "tips up" is right for you, then follow your own true form dt At 10:45 AM 1/19/2010, you wrote: > Well, I have wondered too, if - as I've read - Dowland evolved from > thumb under to thumb over as he played lutes with more courses, why > thumb over is not more commonly used. But then, I definitely hear and > feel a significant difference between the two approaches when I manage > to play a passage using each. My preference on my instrument is thumb > under, when I'm able to manage it (still stuggling to be consistent > with it. It looks so easy and natural when I see players proficient > with it, and yet my hand is stubbornly resistant!). > > > > Ned > > -- > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
