The point about modulation is that since you acknowlege your frets (including 'tastini') are necessarily straight, then the change of some notes from diatonic to chromatic intervals, consequent on the modulation, requires such a change since the modulation will very rarely (if ever in practice) effect all the fret positions on each of the courses the same. Yes, I'm afraid wether or not such chimeric things (as 'tastini') were used is very much to the point: if we pretend to play period music using instruments and styles familiar to the 'Old Ones' and what their audiences might have expected and heard, then we ought not impose tuning (fretting) systems which have no historic justification. MH
LGS-Europe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Dear Martyn > So when you modulate I suppose you must stop and move your frets. Of course not. One of the points of period temperaments is that keys have different flavours to them. Modulation in a piece is a change of colour. See the whole baroque theory on the affects of different keys. > What is your evidence for the use of 'tastini' in the earlier period? None, apart from Galilei disliking them. I think there are theorbos with marks of double first frets? Might be wrong here. But that's not the point, is it? If you want to play something other than ET, and you'll have to if you're going to play with cornetti, sackbuts, the local organ or harpsichord, a viol consort, a cittern, traverso, recorders, etc, you'll have to do something to play in tune with them. Moving your frets and retuning your strings will be your only option. You can play in mean tone without tastini if you like, it makes life a little harder, that's all. I don't particular like them, so sometimnes I don't use them. It means I have more no-go areas on the fingerboard. I don't quite understand the opposition to this basic idea, which to me is just common sense. If you want to play in tune with someone not tuned in ET, adapt. A lute has movable frets, so move them. David **************************** David van Ooijen [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.davidvanooijen.nl **************************** To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --------------------------------- For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month. --
