Dear Eugene,
Thank you for this. Not being at all familiar with the mandolino, I was
unaware of, what to my mind, seems such high tension (4Kg) being
normally employed on the finger plucked instrument of only around 32cm
string length. No wonder someone remarked about 'iron bars'. Did this
sort of tension emerge by working back from the later metal strung/bent
belly neopolitan mandolin tensions or was there some other (historical)
source you mandolino players consulted. Clearly the Ospedale's strings
look a very good line of enquiry.
Generally the desirable string tension on the lute seems to relate to
string length so that bigger instruments of the same type (eg 7 course
lutes) mostly require higher tensions. Dowland, for example, tells
us that bigger lutes need thicker strings. Of course, there's some
latitude and it seems that lute tensions probably went down with an
increase in the number of courses around 1600 (perhaps to keep the
instrument from collapsing), which in turn required a closer to the
bridge plucking position - but all this is another, and well rehearsed,
story. What I was wanting to suggest is that a lower string tension
might well be worth exploring on the small mandolino to,
paradoxically, achieve more volume from finger plucking. I'm aware of
the suggestion that 0.4mm is the thinnest gut historically possible but
I'm not so sure how safe an assumption it is (perhaps for whole guts -
but cannot they be split?). What if, for a test, you tried nylon 0.30mm
on the first (if it's still available) and the rest accordingly?
Yours even more intrigued
Martyn
--- On Fri, 28/5/10, Eugene C. Braig IV <brai...@osu.edu> wrote:
From: Eugene C. Braig IV <brai...@osu.edu>
Subject: [LUTE] Re: playing technique of baroque mandolin
To: "'Lute List'" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Date: Friday, 28 May, 2010, 15:45
Somewhere there is a catalogue of strings intended for shipment to
Vivaldi's famous Ospedale della Piet`a. I don't remember the level
of
detail, but do remember it lists strings for mandolin. I think I
have
a transcription of that document someplace, but am not certain.
I'll
keep my eye open. If anybody else has it, feel free to weigh in.
It's hard to find modern gut that functions very well below 0.4 mm
diameter. With string lengths typically around 31-34 cm, depending
upon pitch, I would expect the g'' strings to be pretty
substantially
higher in tension. Right now, I have carbon g'' strings on mine
(technically, P-Line CFX flourocarbon fly fishing leader material)
at
0.32 mm. Because of limitations of the strings themselves, the g''
usually clocks ca. 4 kg. I go to ca. 3 kg on the others.
Best,
Eugene
____________________________________________________________________
___
From: Martyn Hodgson [mailto:[1]hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 4:23 AM
To: Eugene C. Braig IV; Stuart Walsh
Cc: 'Susanne Herre'; 'Lute List'
Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: playing technique of baroque mandolin
Not being a mandolino player I hope you don't object to me intruding
and commenting on Timmerman's (fine) performance and the volume he
generates from the instrument. Of course, since the piece is
recorded
we have no real means of knowing the volume - for all I know it
could
be as loud as a modern grand piano or as soft as a small clavichord.
One thing did occur to me though: I sensed he employed a fairly low
string tension (especially noticeable in the trills and the like). I
don't know what tension you mandolino players would normally expect
to
use on this sort of instrument (string length 30cm?) but by analogy
with lutes I'd automatically be looking at something around
1.5Kg/Newtons. Is there historical evidence of the string tension on
these instruments?
yours enquiringly
Martyn
[2].
--
References
1. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk
2. mailto:.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=davide.rebu...@fastwebnet.it
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