[VIHUELA] Re: Guitar right hand positions

[Monica Hall]

Thanks Stuart.   They all look as if they are playing thumb inside - but I 
wouldn't trust Pesori as far as I could see him.

He has a really sinister countenance.

Monica

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stuart Walsh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Vihuelalist" <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 10:37 PM
Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: Guitar right hand positions


Monica Hall wrote:
my own experience. As to the issue of placing the little finger on the 
top
(which is what many thumb-in lutenists do, also on the guitar...): this 
is
not exactly supported by guitar related sources (do you know of any 
source
saying that?), nor by iconography. On the contrary. It most likely was 
not
a
standard feature of guitar technique in the 17th century, although some
will
have played like that. It makes me wonder what you wish to prove by 
saying
this....

On reflection I feel I can't let this go unchallenged.   There is an 
attractive painting of a girl playing the guitar by the Dutch(!) painter 
Casper Netscher in which she is clearly shown playing with her little 
finger resting inside the moustache of the bridge.   You can see this on 
the web site of the Wallace Collection in London where the picture is on 
view. There is also another painting of the actress Mary Davis by Peter 
Lely in which it looks as if she could be resting her little finger on 
the soundboard although it's not entirely clear.   On p. 99 of Frederick 
Grunfeld's book there is a painting from a 17th century fresco in Venice 
in which she also looks as if she might be resting her little finger on 
the soundboard. Another on p.126  by the French painter Quesnel.  And of 
course there is the Vermeer painting.   Not so long ago Stuart put some 
illustrations on his site from one of Pesori's books which shows a rather 
odd position which could be thumb inside.

I've uploaded the illustrations again:


http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Pesori/



Stuart



   I can't go through my entire picture collection but I would say on the 
basis of the pictorial evidence that there was considerable variety in 
hand positions.  Of course whether the pictures are accurate or not is 
another matter.

Do you know of any guitar sources which describe right-hand position at 
all? Perhaps you could lists these for us.  On what basis can you claim 
that this wasn't a standard feature of guitar technique?

Absence of evidence and considerations of whether or not illustrations 
are accurate don't seem to have deterred you from claiming that the 
guitar was often wire strung in early 17th century Italy.  There is only 
the rather crude drawing on the title page of Corbetta's 1639 book.   How 
many guitar books do you know which say that the guitar was wire strung?

Monica




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