[BAROQUE-LUTE] Re: Rank Amateur [Exerciser for aging fingers]

[Anthony Hind]

Sorry Wayne, I was going to add a subtitle, but someone phoned, and  
then I forgot, so here is my second effort.

Alan
	If you are in the situation I was when beginning to play again, it  
is more a question of getting your hands back into a supple enough  
state to be able to do lute exercises.
The index of my left finger after one or two exercises would click,  
and then a sort of burning sensation would appear.

I did all sorts of finger exercises without lute: just finger  
exercises or movement with those Chinese balls that are supposed to  
cure rheumatism. It helped slightly, but then I found an exerciser  
called the Gripmaster.
It was created by a trumpeter, and looks like it; you can work each  
finger separately. Don't even bother working them all together. This  
appears to have "cured" the problem with my index finger.
Of course it is no replacement for finger exercises on the lute,  
which both strengthen and teach you the special coordination needed.  
It may be of no use whatsoever to a younger person who has always  
played and kept in trim.

It is not just a question of strengthening the fingers, however; it  
does seem to give more control. The fingers become more supple and  
progressively springy (shock absorbers?), and something happens to  
the pads of the finger tips, which seem to become more "squidgy". The  
tops of each "piston" is a slightly patterned plastic. This seems to  
alter the texture of the skin slightly, giving a smoother surface.  
After using it for a minute or so, the sound from the lute seems to  
become less scratchy.
The only thing is not to overuse it, like any exercise, as then it  
hinders play. Just moderate use, helps you to warm up the muscles,  
and gets me playing more quickly.

I have given it up, several times, thinking I no longer had use for  
it, but I think I have always slipped back slightly. It exists in  
various strengths, and is used by shooters, climbers, trumpeters, and  
some guitarists.
At first sight, it would be more useful for guitarists who need to  
hold down more tension, some like it some don't.

I lost mine on a trip out somewhere. I immediately bought another  
one. I have the red (medium high)and blue one (medium low) good for  
the little finger, but mainly use the red one.
Sometimes I use the blue one before the red, and then after the red,  
when I think about being very cautious, warming up, and warming down,  
as it were.

Be careful, the black one is also red, but with more black on it, and  
that might be too powerful for strengthening little fingers, etc.

Actually, I just looked at the reviews on Musiciansfriend.com and I  
couldn't find any negative remarks, but I do remember reading some  
previously.

Here is a positive one from an older guitarist : "My speed and  
accuracy increased and, also being an older musician I had no fatigue  
or cramping in my fingers as I usually have. "

I must insist that this is just my personal experience, and the same  
exerciser might be a disaster for someone else, perhaps even doing  
damage, or just no additional help if you are already in good form.

There are also books on general exercises specifically aimed at  
musicians. I bought one in French, "Education physique preventive  
pour les musiciens"
from http://www.arts-medicine.com/eng/indexeng.php?rub=3;
but there must be ones in English.
Anthony

Le 22 févr. 08 à 11:46, Alan Hoyle a écrit :


I was very interested in the central body of Anthony's contribution  
- my
experience is exactly the same. I first took up the lute in 1978  
and gave it
up, to all intents and purposes, in 1982 because my professional  
duties
increased to the point where I simply could not find the time to  
practise &
so found that the quality of my playing was rapidly deteriorating.
Six years ago, with a little more time on my hands, I dug out my  
old Harwood
& Isaacs built-from-kit lute and started again. That summer I  
ordered a
6-course renaissance lute with which I was, and remain, delighted.  
However,
there are still pieces which I can recall playing with reasonable  
competence
and dexterity nearly 30 years ago which are now beyond me. In some  
cases,
it's simply a matter of stiffer joints lacking the necessary  
nimbleness; but
I think that there is something else: perhaps the muscle-memory is  
less
efficient in a 60 year-old than one half his age.
'Lute News' ran a competition a few issues back inviting readers/ 
members to
submit their preferred warm-up exercises. I looked forward to the next
issue, hoping for some useful advice. Unfortunately, there was not  
a single
entry!
So... might I ask if anyone out there can suggest good ways of  
spending the
first half hour or so of practice time so that, like Anthony, I  
don't have
to spend all my precious playing time trying prevent my playing
deteriorating once again, but might actually see some progress.
I should confess, I do not have a lute of above 7 courses, so  
perhaps should
not be troubling this list - my apologies if this is a breech of  
etiquette

Alan


----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony Hind" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Martin Shepherd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Stuart Walsh"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Stephen Arndt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <baroque-lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 10:55 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Rank Amateur Recording # 3


Dear Stephen and Martin
Thank you Stephen for sharing this with us. As I am about to begin
attempting to approach this music myself (I have always loved this
repertoire since I heard the Anthony Bailes LP, in the 70s). I can
assure you I would be so pleased to reach this level of musicality in
just one year; and also to be able to master stress in front of the
microphone, as well as you have done, here.

Since semi retirement, I have been up-hill struggling to master the
Renaissance lute. Progress seemed fairly quick at first when I took
up the lute again, but I swiftly hit a plateau, and not at a high
enough level, I feel.
I regularly, go to listen to other amateurs and professionals, once a
month; and I have rarely heard a player succeed in playing a complete
piece without fluffing a note. Most tell us that they were playing
far better a few hours before, at home in their kitchen, or whatever.
Stress in public (even in front of a teacher) and before the
microphone is clearly deadly, and very hard to overcome. Furthermore,
I notice that I have to play around an hour and a half, before I
reach the level I seemed to be at the day before.  Even most advanced
players tell me that this warm-up period is crucial with the lute. It
does not just effect the ability to play the notes, but also the
actual sound quality. You can have played a piece acceptably one day,
and pick up your lute later in front of someone, and be almost
incapable of playing it.

Martin, could the HD2 have some inner programme that raises
sensitivity or narrows the focus of the microphone (from more or less
omni to unidirectional) in relation to "its perception" of the source
(independently from your control), in order to somehow equalize the
sound level of the recording? Such a programme could explain this
effect ("I seemed to get more finger (thumb) noise at larger
distances").
Best wishes
Anthony






Le 21 févr. 08 à 10:18, Martin Shepherd a écrit :

Dear Stephen,

Thanks for sharing this with us - lovely music, a nice-sounding   
lute and
played with great feeling, what more could we want?   Except more  
of the
same...

I share your (and Stuart's) frustrations with this music - it is  
so  full
of detail, and I find the Allemandes the most difficult of  all.  I'm
amazed you've only been playing this lute a year: I know  from my own
experience that just because it's a lute and the music  is in nice
friendly French tab you think it's going to be easy, but  it takes  
a long
time to become really familiar with the tuning and  its associated  
chord
shapes, quite apart from all the other details  you have to  
contend with.
Though the nice thing about the Barbe MS  is the thoroughness with  
which
everything is indicated: RH and LH  fingering, ornaments,  
arpeggiation,
it's all there.  By the way, I  couldn't find this particular  
piece - I
have the facsimile which  only has (modern) page numbers, and page 66
clearly isn't the right  page.

On the recording side, it sounds good but I think with the   
equipment you
have it might be possible to improve it.  I did some  experiments  
with the
Zoom (I'm just using the built-in mics, which  seem to be very good):

I was recording very close (about .5m) and getting a slightly  
boomy  bass.
I also liked the idea of getting more room sound as I was  playing  
in a
room with quite a nice lively acoustic and people  don't normally  
listen
with their head less than two feet from the  lute!  So I did some
systematic experiments comparing distances of . 3, .6, 1.0 and 1.8m,
thinking that the 1.8m distance would give me  a better sound,  
albeit more
background hiss.  I did the same  experiment in two rooms, the  
summer room
(a lively acoustic with  lots of hard surfaces) and the music room  
(much
more sound- absorbing junk and a much drier acoustic).  I was  
surprised to
discover that the bass sound hardly changed at all with distance   
(except
that curiously I seemed to get more finger (thumb) noise at  larger
distances) whereas the treble sound was clearly better at  the short
distances, becoming more metallic as I got further away.   This  
was not at
all what I expected, but I labelled everything  carefully and  
normalized
the results so that overall volume didn't  feature in the  
comparison, so
I'm sure it was a fair test.  The  other thing was that the drier  
acoustic
seemed to give a more  balanced sound.  Warmed up with a little  
reverb
from the computer,  it's fine.  I suppose that my conclusion is  
that you
can't take  anything for granted in this recording business - the  
only
real  test is a test.

Anyway, please keep the sound files coming!  Especially more French
music....

Best wishes,

Martin

Stephen Arndt wrote:

Dear Lutelist,

If anyone is interested, below is a link for another humble  
attempt  at
recording, this time of an Allemande by Ennemond Gaultier (or is  it
Gautier?) from the Barbe Manuscript. I think the rhythm is a bit   
off in a
couple of places, and I didn't realize how weakly I was  playing the
appogiaturas until I listened to the recording. As  always, critical
comments are appreciated, either on- or off-list.

http://download.yousendit.com/2CA885C1149F17C4
As before, I used an Edirol R-1 to record the piece. Does anyone   
know how
it compares to the Zoom H2 (if I remember correctly) that  Martin  
Shepherd
is using?
An intern where I work is a percussionist, and a couple of months   
ago he
gave me a pair of drumsticks. I haven't played the drums for  37  
years,
but I got a practice pad and some books and have started  again. In a
single month I have reached I higher level of drumming  than I  
have at the
baroque lute in a year. It is really frustrating.
Best wishes,

Stephen Arndt




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