Hi Jon, the aside remark *notwithstanding HIP* was actually supposed to help make it out of the academic ghetto. I'm wondering which technical demand leads to changing the right hand posture. You may call *thumb in* a misnomer, but I use this name to make sure you can recognize what I'm talking about.
Thumb in is the earlier playing technique on the renaissance lute, dating from medieval times. Around 1600 it came to be generally dropped in favour of *thumb out*. The change was mentioned and discussed by teachers like Besard, Dowland et al (even someone as late as Reusner). Thumb-in has been explained as having developed from playing with quills, with the quill dropped but the posture kept, shortly before 1500 (cf. Joe Baldassare on medieval lute playing). It's good for playing runs with a steady interchange of heavy and light strokes (thumb--index). Then came a change, thumb out became more popular. This has been explained with expanded bass-registers which can be more easily reached that way. Runs were to be played with interchanging forefinger and middle finger. It is undisputed, I assume, that runs can be done much easier and quicker with thumb-in-technique than with i-m. Vice versa, you'll have to practice a lot more to achieve the same speed and fluency in playing runs with thumb out. Moreover, bass courses can be reached with thumb-in just as easily as with thumb-out (at least, that's my experience). To put it short, thumb-out cannot necessarily be called an improvement in terms of comfortability. Nevertheless, players around 1600 are generally depicted as dropping old fashioned thumb-in, replacing it by cute thumb-out-playing. Why was it that they did so? What was the big deal with that new fashion? Perhaps a new taste in strong, or preponderant, bass notes? Maybe a new sound ideal? (Thumb-in in the middle between rose and bridge vs. thumb-out as near the bridge as possible?) Just guessing... Best, Mathias -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
