Dear Andreas (and others) I'm very new to this list (2 days) and very new to the lute (1 week ago I got an 8-course 'student' lute)
Andreasm I was going to sit quietly a while longer and say nothing, but seeing your message makes me want to say a big 'thank you' for your little book. I got a copy just yesterday, and I can see that not only am I going to learn a lot from it, but also it's an absolute delight to browse through it because of the many photographs. And since I've now come out of hiding, a few words to say 'hello' to the group (and ask a few things that are already troubling me). I live in Northern Ireland. For several years I've been playing lute music on guitar. I've always wanted to try the real thing, but lute prices were out of my financial range. Now I have one - and it's much MUCH more difficult to play than I expected. Foolishly, I assumed that after 30 minutes of playing, I would get used to the differences, and would be playing the pieces as easily as I play them on guitar... NOT SO! The technique is clearly going to be very different, and I need to become a beginner again! But, a few quick questions... What can I use to tighten the tuning pegs? One has a tendency to slip every time I try to adjust the tuning. The lute came with a little piece of black wax labelled 'Peg Paste', but it looks like it might lubricate the peg rather than add traction. What is the best material for a) giving pegs more friction and b) giving them *less* friction? Secondly, my lute has the bass strings all tuned in octaves. I mostly play Dowland, and seem to recall that he said octave tuning was 'contrary to the laws of music'. This makes me inclined to restring my lute with all unison tuning, and I'm wondering if this will drastically affect the tension and do something awful to the lute! Actually I have lots of questions, but I've already gone on far too long, so I'll shut up now! Thanks! John Scott Andreas Schlegel wrote: > Dear Josh > > It's not usual to make advertising, but in this case, it could be > helpful for you: > > I wrote and published a book (end of December 2006) with the title > "The Lute in Europe. A History to Delight". It's just a book for a > person like you who like to get an overview on all the different > types of lute, the ideas behind the several forms of lutes etc. Have > a look on my homepage www.lutecorner.ch under "NEW..." > > It depends from the country where you live which way will be the > cheapest one to buy it. You will find informations there. > > Have a nice day! > > Andreas > > > > The Lute Corner > Andreas Schlegel > Eckstr. 6 > CH-5737 Menziken > Schweiz > +41 (0)62 771 47 07 > www.lutecorner.ch > > Am 27.04.2007 um 21:54 schrieb Josh Winters: > > >> Hello everyone, >> >> >> >> I'm new to this mailing list, having only been here for about a week. >> >> >> >> I do not play the lute, but I have always enjoyed the sound of lute >> music, and over time I've become interested in learning to play. >> However, during my research I have found too many conflicting >> answers to >> my questions. I hope nobody minds me asking them here. >> >> >> >> To the best of my knowledge, the music I enjoy the most is from >> England, >> approximately mid 1500s, maybe even most of that century. If I >> wanted to >> start by learning the music of that period, which lute would you >> recommend? I know that different eras would require different >> setups, so >> I want to make sure I don't buy the wrong thing and get stuck playing >> other music (although, I'd probably still enjoy it). >> >> >> >> Also, would you recommend a different mailing list? >> >> >> >> Thank you very much for your help, and I apologize if I was a bother, >> >> >> >> Josh >> >> >> -- >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> > > > -- > >
