On Nov 15, 2007, at 12:46 AM, Andrew Hartig wrote:
Hi all, I am trying to expand my current cittern plectrum technique beyond what I consider to be a simple, straightforward technique of alternating up/down strokes and phrasing using the Renaissance principles of phrasing found in lute technique.
Well, when asked about bowing, Stefen Grappelli said "the bow goes up and down." You're in California, aren't you? There's lots of different music there. If you're looking for new ideas, why not take a lesson or two from an oud or bouzouki player, a Gypsy jazz player, a classical mandolinist, and a bluegrass player (or go to gigs and watch them). It's all up and down (or down and up), but there are a lot of ways of doing it.
If you're looking for more flexibility, you could think about wrist angle. I've had lessons from several plectrum masters - a classical mandolinist said to keep the wrist straight (in relation to the arm), rest the hand lightly behind the bridge parallel with the strings, and move the hand from the wrist. Many Irish bouzouki and tenor banjo players use a similar technique, but with the hand angled away from the instrument (with the wrist bent up, if you know what I mean). It's interesting to compare Donal Lunny's approach to Andy Irvine's. Andy holds (or held) the pick with thumb and two fingers (like many bluegrass mandolinists). There are several good shots on YouTube. Middle eastern players (and Django) tend to bend the wrist in the opposite direction (in, toward the instrument) - this position means that the whole forearm becomes involved and the action is more of a twist or rotation rather than strictly up and down. Have a look on YouTube again - oud, laouto. Some players really exaggerate this angle, but I think you could hurt yourself if you force it too much. Your wrist will tell you what is most comfortable.
Conceptually, I've found that I have to think about lightness of touch. When I play with the Bacheler Consort I have to be careful not to overpower the lutes, so I need a very light touch. An added benefit is more fluidity, so I try to keep lightness in mind when playing, even when I need to play loudly.
You say you're not interested in playing super fast, but practicing speed bursts can give you more than just speed. Practice them strumming and on individual strings.
Another thing I do is play in time signatures like 5/8, 7/8. etc. in combinations like 3+2, 2+3, 3+2+2, 2+2+3, using a downstroke for the first beat of each group. This means that there are often two downstrokes in a row. Practice it with a single note at first, then with some kind of scale or left-hand fingering pattern (4 3 2 1 0) across all the strings, maintaining the same picking pattern - this means that sometimes you have to switch strings in the upward direction using a downstroke, and vice versa. Maybe this sounds a bit pedantic or even unnatural, but it can help you achieve greater control.
Another technique is to violate the strict down = strong pattern by going for evenness. 6/8 is good for this, played d u d u d u but 3+3, so the second group of 3 is accented just like the first, but starting with an upstroke. This is common in Irish music. Having the ability to use an upstroke on a strong beat can give you more flexibility and fluidity when string crossing - pick direction follows the larger movement of changing courses. I don't think there is any evidence to suggest that this is HIP, but it is useful.
Two-string tremolo practice is also useful - given a pattern of four notes, play the first note on the second course, the other three on the first, maintaining the down up down up pattern. For three note groups across two courses, I find down down up to be very useful - second down, first down, first up, repeat.
There was a famous basketball player when I was growing up called Wilt Chamberlain. He was a great shot but hopeless at free throws. He kept changing his approach trying to find one that worked. He changed so often that he never got it together. I have a tendency to be a technique addict and have to be careful about acquiring a lot of techniques without mastering any. I would say find a technique that works for you and the music that you're playing, and make up little exercises based on things that give you trouble. Be consistent and it will eventually pay off with greater flexibility and control.
GDR To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
