Dear Vance and all, I have seen the quote regarding oil of tartar, but I do not know what it is.
In terms of sound production, you are correct, in that recently warmed hands with hot water always sound better on the lute. I love to play after I shower. But, I would not rely on only warm & moist hands to get a good sound. The reason that this makes the instrument sound better is not the stripping of oils, but merely the warm water softens the hands. The trick is to get that kind of sound most of the time. Keep the distal (i.e. furthest - away) joints on the fingers totally relaxed & flexible. This will help. ed At 07:23 AM 10/24/03 +0000, Vance Wood wrote: >I was reading through Varietie of Lute Lessons the other day, as I >occasionally do, to see if I could pick up something I may have missed >previously. I noticed a mention that some players during the period soaked >their hands in a concoction call "Oil of Tartar". Does anyone know what >this is, what is it supposed to do, and is it effective? The author of this >section, I believe Besard, claimed no first hand experience with it but it >was mentioned. > >Another point for your comments, observations and criticism,-- if any. I >have noticed that when I wash my hands in very hot water to the point where >I can feel the grain of my finger prints I get a far better sound on the >Lute with the right hand . I am assuming that the lack of oils on my >fingers allows the finger prints to gain some sort of purchase on the >strings instead of sliding across them. Has anyone else found this to be >true and if so how do you maintain this condition through a session lasting >more than fifteen minutes? Or as I suspect what am I doing wrong ? > >Vance Wood.
