The technique was common in 19th century guitar playing, where it was
often marked with a "^". It does have some advantages and there are
spots where it facilitates fewer chord shape changes. In that
repertoire, I haven't encountered any pieces that I absolutely couldn't
finger without the thumb over the neck. (I did, however, perform one
contemporary piece in which the only way I could figure out how to get
a particular combination of notes was to use the left hand thumb. This
was not due to cleverness on the composer's part, but rather because he
wasn't a guitarist at all.)
I suspect that some lute players did this and some avoided it. There
might be the odd piece that absolutely requires it. There also might be
some performance practice insights one could gain from experimenting
with it, but due to the risk of wrist injury, I'd be hesitant to make a
regular practice of using it all the time. Even in the 19th century, it
wasn't universal. Sor, for one, disapproved of it.
Chris
[1]Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
On Oct 1, 2015, 12:01:01 PM, G. C. wrote:
One obscure feature of plucking which has always fascinated but eluded
me is the technique of using also the thumb to play on the lower
strings. Supposedly mainly feasible on 6 course instruments and a
narrow neck, it has apparently been in vogue and an open "secret" for
the initiated since the days of Francesco at least (see famous painting
by Giulio Campi on the cover of Doug's History of the Lute if it indeed
depicts such a practice). I know that it is very common in Rock, (where
its so widespread, that it has to be meaningful somehow). To me,
(classically trained), it looks bizarre, and more like someone has
learned to play the wrong way. But it has to have at least some
advantages, as it seems to be so popular (at least among the rock music
pluckers). Not only for barrA", particularly chords where the index
presses on a fret in front of the fret that the thumb is stopping look
bewildering. Might there be an ergonomic/finger mechanical reason?
(Concert playing for hours so thereby avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome?)
Is there someone here who could explain the inner workings and/or
advantages of this technique in a simple way or point to a website, are
there any uses for it in lute-playing (skewed barrA"?), and does the
practice have a consensus name?
Best regards
G
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