Hi everyone,
Just a few comments to add:
In addition to Dowland, Gregory Howet also played thumb-out; my
ancient article on Sebastian Ochsenkuhn (American Lute Society Journal,
1982) points out that Ochsenkuhn (1558) is seen playing thumb out
(perhaps because his lute looks pretty large), and Bakfark is also
shown playing thumb out. I have played both ways (with no guitar
background), and I think that thumb out is just as good (sometimes
better) for the repertory c. 1600 . . .
John O. Robison
On 3/17/10 7:20 PM, "howard posner" <[1][email protected]> wrote:
On Mar 17, 2010, at 11:51 AM, morgan cornwall wrote:
> I would like to make the best use of the time I have. Given my
> circumstances, would you recommend that I learn thumb-under
technique?
> Does it make more sense to use this technique from the start, or
should
> I focus on the other aspects of lute technique? If I don't
learn
> thumb-under from the get go, will this just be more to unlearn
later?
> Should I not even worry about using thumb-under?
I remember some years ago, a lurker on the list named John Dowland
asked if he should change from thumb-under to thumb-out technique,
since everyone seemed to have been switching, and he got a mixed bag
of responses. I wish I could forward them on to you, but it was
more than 400 years ago and my email archives don't go back that
far; Stewart McCoy probably has them. I believe Dowland made that
change, or so Stobaeus tells us.
As for you, you should arrange your right hand so that it's getting
a full tone and not banging two strings of a course together, which
in turn involves striking the string from the top, as if you're
pushing them down toward the soundboard. Your guitar technique will
probably not accomplish this. Resting the pinkie on the soundboard
is helpful in orienting the hand, so even if it feels odd at first,
you should try it. Experiment with whatever works, and don't worry
too much about where your thumb is, unless it's interfering with
your fingers.
My first lute teacher told me to try thumb-under for at least a week
or so, mostly to get me doing something different from what I was
used to, the theory being, I suppose, that doing something farthest
removed from my established habits would minimize the transfer of
lute-inappropriate technique to the lute.
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