I know only one thing: for me 1/6 comma practically works. No slanted frets nor tastini. I don't bear anymore to play early Renaissance music in equal temperament which on the other hand I use on all the later music as it allows to play in other keys than the "standard" Renaissance keys.
I think there were not so many rules in the past. Galilei advocates against tastini, so there were people using them and meantone temperament. How many we don't know. Piccinini advocates playing with nails, others say not. Besard says to stretch the thumb out, some others say to do so if your hand allows it (for instance, I have a short thumb, one falanx shorter than usual). In any case, Besard (if I remember correctly) blames those who play shaking their hand, so there were some musicians that still played thumb under at his time. How many we don't know. Lately, some, many?, people played with the pinky very close or behind the bridge, so they probably had lower string tensions, which is probably good for instruments with many strings, and a completely different sound of what now people think is nice. Even our instruments are biased by our ideal, sweet, sound, which BTW is different from what was considered a good sound thirty years ago, but if one reproduces exactly the thickness and bar dimensions of the surviving boards, the sound that comes out is much brighter. Ok, it depends on the board stiffness too, but that's it. It is a modern, romantic, idea that everything in music must be written, the thecnique must be absolutely that etc. The old masters, simply did what they liked more and worked better for them, of course to the degree the instrument allowed. They wrote their own music or freely adapted what was composed by others, simplifying or adding diminutions as they thought was fit and their thecnique allowed. As in the case of the lute there is no continuity because no one have played it for a couple of centuries, we can only guess and try to stay close to what they "probably" did. If we like to do so, because at the end no one wrote a law so the lutenists have to play only old music! Freedom (in art, at least)! Happy plucking -------- Messaggio originale -------- Da: Matthew Daillie <[email protected]> Data: 21/07/19 11:23 (GMT+01:00) A: "[email protected] list" <[email protected]> Oggetto: [LUTE] Re: Wishful thinking on lute temparaments was Re: Lute Temperaments OK, I stand corrected, you know best. Have a nice day. Matthew Le 21 juil. 2019 à 11:15, Martyn Hodgson <[email protected]> a écrit : > Dear Matthew, > Thank you for his - though I really do not know why you suggest a > 'slanging match'!. My intention is merely to put some historical and > practical perspective on the matter rather than simple personal > assertion. To repeat: you are making the common mistake of discussing > theoretical temperaments (mainly, in practice, only employable on > keyboard instruments) with practical temperaments appropriate for > fretted instruments such as the lute. > Whether or not some modern players might adopt this manner ('meantone') > of fretting is not, of course, the point - perhaps they might > themselves engage in a degree of wishful thinking. Certainly, modern > fashions come and go as fast as fads, and in other areas of lute > performance practice some modern players (even a few professionals who > might be expected to know better) still insist on, for example, > employing thumb-under for repertoire other than the sixteenth century. > In short, such anecdotal reports, even from 'professionals, are not > reliable evidence of historic practice. > regards > MH > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
