Hey Chris, that's really interesting. So the 19th century repertoire is replete with this technique? I'm surprized and feel there is much to this matter, which hasn't been thoroughly analyzed yet. :) G.
On Thu, Oct 1, 2015 at 6:28 PM, Christopher Wilke <[1]chriswi...@cs.dartmouth.edu> wrote: The technique was common in 19th century guitar playing, where it was often marked with a "^". It does have some advantages and there are spots where it facilitates fewer chord shape changes. In that repertoire, I haven't encountered any pieces that I absolutely couldn't finger without the thumb over the neck. (I did, however, perform one contemporary piece in which the only way I could figure out how to get a particular combination of notes was to use the left hand thumb. This was not due to cleverness on the composer's part, but rather because he wasn't a guitarist at all.) I suspect that some lute players did this and some avoided it. There might be the odd piece that absolutely requires it. There also might be some performance practice insights one could gain from experimenting with it, but due to the risk of wrist injury, I'd be hesitant to make a regular practice of using it all the time. Even in the 19th century, it wasn't universal. Sor, for one, disapproved of it. Chris [1]Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Oct 1, 2015, 12:01:01 PM, G. C. wrote: One obscure feature of plucking which has always fascinated but eluded me is the technique of using also the thumb to play on the lower strings. Supposedly mainly feasible on 6 course instruments and a narrow neck, it has apparently been in vogue and an open "secret" for the initiated since the days of Francesco at least (see famous painting by Giulio Campi on the cover of Doug's History of the Lute if it indeed depicts such a practice). I know that it is very common in Rock, (where its so widespread, that it has to be meaningful somehow). To me, (classically trained), it looks bizarre, and more like someone has learned to play the wrong way. But it has to have at least some advantages, as it seems to be so popular (at least among the rock music pluckers). Not only for barrA", particularly chords where the index presses on a fret in front of the fret that the thumb is stopping look bewildering. Might there be an ergonomic/finger mechanical reason? (Concert playing for hours so thereby avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome?) Is there someone here who could explain the inner workings and/or advantages of this technique in a simple way or point to a website, are there any uses for it in lute-playing (skewed barrA"?), and does the practice have a consensus name? Best regards G -- To get on or off this list see list information at [2][2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html References 1. [3]https://yho.com/footer0 2. [4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:chriswi...@cs.dartmouth.edu 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 3. https://yho.com/footer0 4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html