Dear All,
This morning I played through a little Ballet from page 150 of
Fuhrmann's _Testudo Gallo-Germanica_ (Nuremberg, 1615). I think it
is an ideal piece for showing what I consider to be correct
left-hand fingering for the lute.
Fingering is very much a personal thing, of course, and everyone
will have his own way of doing it, but I hope my generalisations
will be tolerated for the sake of the argument. (Don't forget to
read this message with a mono-spaced font like Courier. It might be
necessary to click on Reply to make that font available.)
I believe there are three basic hand positions:
1) Covering four frets: one finger per fret:
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
| |\ |
__a___1c__3e__4f__3e___4f__
_____________________|_1c__
_____________________|_2d__
_______a_____________|_____
_3e____________a_____|__a__
___________________a_|_____ (from bars 11-12)
One finger per fret is usually best for scales and single melodic
lines.
2) Covering three frets: 3rd & 4th fingers work in tandem across the
same fret:
|\
|\
|
____________
_1c___4e__|_
_2d_______|_
_3e_______|_
__________|_
__________|_ (from bar 3)
The 3rd finger holds e on the 4th course, while the 4th finger plays
e on the 2nd course. Both operate at the same fret.
3) Covering two frets: 1st & 2nd fingers also work in tandem across
the same fret:
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |
|\ | |
___________________________________
_4d__2c__a______a_|_________2c__||_
____________3d____|_3d______3d__||_
__a_______________|_____1c__1c__||_
__________________|__a__________||_
__________________|_____________||_ (from bars 15-16)
/a
I have noticed a tendency with some players to maintain the first of
these hand positions, not only for playing single lines, but for
chordal passages, where the other hand positions might be more
appropriate. The sort of thing I have in mind is where there are
occasional notes at the 4th fret, as in this example from bars 13-15
of the Fuhrmann Ballet:
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
| |\ |
_a_________________________________a__________
____d_|_c__a_____a__c__a__c__d___|_______d__c_
______|_______d__________________|____d_______
______|__________________________|_______a____
_e__c_|_a___________a__________c_|_e__________
______|__________________________|____________
Think how you would finger this passage, before scrolling down to
the rest of this message.
Some players might be tempted to use the 4th finger for e5.
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
| |\ |
_a___________________________________a__________
____3d_|_2c__a_____a_2c_a_2c_3d___|_______3d_2c_
_______|_______3d_________________|____3d_______
_______|__________________________|________a____
_4e_1c_|__a___________a________1c_|_4e__________
_______|__________________________|_____________
Others might prefer to stop e5 with the 3rd finger, (which is
longer, and can reach across the fingerboard easier), and stay in
2nd position:
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
| |\ |
_a___________________________________a__________
____2d_|_1c__a_____a_1c_a_1c_2d___|_______2d_1c_
_______|_______2d_________________|____2d_______
_______|__________________________|________a____
_3e_1c_|__a___________a________1c_|_3e__________
_______|__________________________|_____________
This is better, but the 1st finger has to keep hopping between the
2nd and 5th course, and the 4th finger remains idle.
My preference is to maintain, where possible, the 3rd hand position
described above, which has two pairs of fingers working in tandem
along a fret. It means changing position for a note of two, and
using the 4th finger at the 3rd fret, and the 3rd finger at the 4th
fret. This may seem cack-handed, but it's safer, easier to play
legato, and all four fingers share the work:
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
|\ |\ |\
| |\ |
_a___________________________________a__________
____4d_|_2c__a_____a_2c_a_2c_4d___|_______4d_2c_
_______|_______3d_________________|____2d_______
_______|__________________________|________a____
_3e_1c_|__a___________a________1c_|_3e__________
_______|__________________________|_____________
Best wishes,
Stewart McCoy.
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