Don't know which competition is mentioned, but Winfield, KS is the big one for folk styles, including mandolin.
For what it's worth, classical players would much prefer their mandolins to be relatively stable in performance, usually playing seated and usually bracing the instrument with the flesh of the right forearm. A late-romantic example with a bit of tempo to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALrncsl1lWo A mid 18th-c. HIP example (sadly, Alison was lost to cancer this past autumn): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD4ub-WRoPA Enjoy! Eugene > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Herbert Ward > Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 12:43 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [LUTE] Stability of lute in playing fast. > > Below I use the word "jerk" several times. I suspect > there may be a more elegant and accurate verb. If > so, please excuse me. > > A few weeks ago I watched a bluegrass mandolin player. > This man had won a (Texas?) state bluegrass mandolin > championship, and, as one might suppose, he could quite > fast. > > In watching him play, I immediately noticed the large > degree to which his mandolin "jerks around" (for lack > of a better phrase) while he's playing, with no tendency > to jerk less during the fastest and most intricate > passages, or indeed even during the quieter passages. > > This contrasts starkly with my modus operandi, which > is to stabilize the lute as much as possible, in order > to give myself a stationary target, especially for > my right hand. > > The obvious explanation for this is to suppose that > the mandolin player's hands, and in particular his > right hand, move with the mandolin while he's playing, > and thus negate the effect of the "jerking". But, in > playing the lute, my right hand is, more or less, > glued to the lute in that my little finger rests > on the soundboard and my forearm rests on the lute's > edge close to the strap button. > > All this leaves me fairly confused. Do all elite > lute players keep their little fingers and forearms > solidly on the lute? Do they stress this in > their teaching? Do they present this as part > of the technique needed to play fast? Do any of > them play with "jerking" lutes? Have any of this > list's readers worked through this issue personally? > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
