Dear Morgan,
You should read this article by Martin Shepherd. To my mind one of the best
explanations on RH technique.
http://www.luteshop.co.uk/rhtech.htm
Cheers
Gilbert
http://users.telenet.be/gilbert.isbin/contents.html
----- Original Message -----
From: "m cornwall" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2010 3:50 PM
Subject: [LUTE] beginner help required for thumb under technique
Howdy,
I am now the proud owner of a lovely Barber and Harris 7 course student
lute. I have played the guitar for years, but the lute is new to me.
I have been studying lute technique as I best can from home, using
books, the internet and some DVDs I have. I have yet to find an
available teacher anywhere near me.
I have a number of things to sort out, but the most pressing at the
moment is my thumb-under technique. I can get a nice tone from my
fingers, but the tone produced by my thumb is harsh. I suspect the
courses are either bumping into each other or the frets, but it is also
just the way the thumb engages the strings. So I am looking for advice
on the proper thumb stroke. Most of the videos I have, such Ronn
McFarlane's Mel Bay video, show the hands from front on. I have yet to
find a video shot from above and behind the player which might be
helpful. (just found this ukulele thumb under video:
[1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bab_tC20K4)
My nails are short. I believe that my hand position is reasonably
close to where it should be (i.e. it's not in the classical guitar
position).
Obviously the lute requires a much lighter thumb stroke than used on
the guitar, but even when I use a light strike the sound produced by my
thumb is not at all as pleasant as the sound when using my fingers.
Does the thumb stroke primarily come from the main thumb joint? When
playing scales the arm seems to come into use as well. But what about
the last joint on the thumb? Players preference?
Does the thumb begin it's stroke only touching 1 string of a course,
similar to a guitar, or does it rest on both strings, more like the
fingers?
Is the general direction of the tip of the thumb down, perpendicular to
the strings, or somewhat angled, down and away from the neck?
Is the portion of the thumb that touches the strings the side, mainly
the side with a bit of the curve of the tip, mostly on the curve of the
tip (where the nail ends), or something else?
When playing chords, my thumb is much happier when rolling chords.
When striking all the courses simultaneously, my thumb is more likely
to run out of space and collide with my index finger.
Thank you in advance for any advice,
morgan
--
References
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bab_tC20K4
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