bill kilpatrick wrote: > here's a lovely detail of some plectrum picking on a > 5c. lute: > > http://schulze-kurz.mine.nu/Seite_Ekkehard/Instrumente_Galerie/Laute/lauteMA3.jpg > It's interesting that the little finger is definitely not placed on the soundboard. There is another image on the site which also shows a lutenist with the little finger floating in the air. The painting mentioned above must be late 15th century (I think David Van Edwards has argued that lutes with that window-rose-thing where neck and body join, enjoyed a brief popularity at this time). I thought that finger-on-the-soundboard was meant to be a continuation of plectrum technique?
Are we seeing a quill plectrum protruding from between the second joint of the first and second fingers? And what is the third finger doing? The left hand is fretting notes both where the quill would strike the strings and several courses away. The player could be about to strum a chord. Or could the player be playing two voices at once - one with the plectrum and one with the third finger? To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
