>Jon Wrote,
>I can't speak to the use of nails on guitar or lute, I've >never used
>nails.
Jon, very well put.......
I think most of us first heard Bream's early recordings of lute music
played with nails on a hybrid lute guitar thing. While personally, in
theory I'm not opposed to nails on the lute, I was fascinated when I first
heard Paul Odette's recordings, and realized the beauty of the plucked sound
rather than a nail sound.
No self respecting modern classical guitarist plays without nails
thesedays. The modern guitar is designed for much higher tension strings,
and the overall focus of balance is much more refined to the bass resonance,
( the nail brings out the right amount of brilliance), as opposed to say a
Panormo, or lacote, which has a built in treble response, and works
perfectly with out nails. The fan braced Panormo ( not so bright ) will tend
to sound better with nails than the ladder ( lute like ) braced model.
Stephen Stubbs gets a fantastic sound from the Baroque lute, and I've
been told he plays with very long nails. However, I've tried using nails on
the Baroque lute and it doesn't work for me.
The really strange thing is that most all thumb out, hand positions
shown in paintings show the fingers at a 90 degree angle to the stings, and
I've never seen anyone play this way thesedays. If you try it whether on
gut or nylon one gets a very thin tone. Perhaps the trend in the early
1600's was towards a thin percussive tone?
MT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Greg M. Silverman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Michael Thames"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Mathias RXsel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Lute
net" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 6:12 PM
Subject: Re: Neceffarie obferuations
> Michael,
>
>> I couldn't tell you the physical principles involved. Maybe it has to
> do
>> with friction and mass, and the fact they play with rest stroke.
>> All I can say is it true!.... and Paco plays 10 times as fast as
> any
>> of the guys you mentioned, and plays with nails... I know this because I
> saw
>> one of his nails ( a fake one ) explode into the sky above the audience
>> at
> a
>> concert once.
>
> I can't speak to the use of nails on guitar or lute, I've never used
> nails.
> But I've observed it on the harp (easier to see as the instrument is more
> open). The players of the wire strung harp (the Celtic Clearsach) use
> nails,
> the more modern gut or nylon players use finger pads. The "pluck" is a
> shorter stroke with nails on the wire harp, and the possibility of speed
> better. Your physical principles of friction and mass are correct.
>
> But there is also the matter of skills, a big man can hit a baseball (or
> golf ball) farther than a small man - unless that small man has
> exceptional
> "hand speed". So to say (as someone did) that there is one player who can
> play with fingertips as fast as others with nails is to compare apples and
> oranges. Any one individual may have an exceptional talent that overrides
> a
> perceived disadvantage. (As size, in the "hitter" - or nails in the
> player).
>
> To extrapolate the general from the specific is normally an error. The
> balalaika or mandolin player with a pick is probably going to make faster
> runs than the p/i player with nails, and the finger tip player will
> probably
> be a bit slower. Unless the finger picker is using all his fingers as a
> roll
> (that the nail player can also do). The issue is moot. The guitar is a
> higher tension, the nylon/gut guitar can be played with nails. The lute
> and
> harp have a bit less tension and the sound production is better with
> finger
> pads, except the wire strung harp (and I'm not sure about that, I've
> played
> them with fingertips). And since when did speed become music, a well paced
> piece is more enjoyable to me than a virtuoso race. I confess I took piano
> lessons 60 years ago until I could play Jack Fina's Bumble Boogie (a
> boogie
> woogie version of Flight of the Bumble Bee). In later years I've learned
> that music isn't meant to be a contest of speed, it is a matter of the
> appropriate pace, and the voices of the piece.
>
> Best, Jon
>
>
>
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