Hello Mathias Is it right to think that thumb-out is the historically correct technique for lute music composed post 1600? Did lute players all over Europe switch to thumb-out around 1600? And this might be a silly question: are there any players today who use both techniques: thumb-in for renaissance pieces and thumb-out for baroque?
I didn't play much guitar before taking up the lute so learning thumb- in hasn't involved breaking any habits - but I am (perhaps overly) concerned with historical correctness. Andrew (also a beginner player) On 1 May 2007, at 14:11, Mathias Rösel wrote: > Hi John, > > thumb-in is not the only technique to be used for the renaissance > lute. > There is still another technique, called thumb-out, which resembles > guitar technique a lot. The pinky stays on the soundboard, but the > forefinger, middle and ring finger are held in a right angle toward > the > strings (instead of parallel as with thumb-in), and the thumb is > stretched out, being held parallel to the bass courses. > > I've played the lute for almost 25 years by now, using thumb-in > exclusively, even with the baroque lute (sic!), as I was under > impression that is the proper way. Only since some five months I've > seriously tried thumb-out, and I have to say, it works well, producing > quite a distinct sound which differs from what comes out of thumb-in. > > All I wanted to say is, you are not doomed to thumb-in, and if it > doesn't work for you, try the other. It was developed around 1600 for > playing lutes with seven and more courses. > > Mathias > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
