Maybe this is totally off the wall, but isn't it also a question of right-arm position? Doesn't the shape of the guitar make it easier to to hold the instrument with the right arm resting on the upper bout? This makes resting the pinkie on the soundboard redundant as far as steadying the instrument is concerned.
On the other hand, there are still many "schools" or styles of guitar playing today where resting the pinkie on the soundboard is integral to the technique. It helps with orienting the hand in space, and it also more or less establishes a certain muscle configuration. Another thing that comes to mind that may have some bearing on this question is the technique described in 18th-century cittern tutors. Also here the pinkie is supposed to rest on the soundboard, not so much to steady the instrument (some tutors advise using a strap to keep it steady) but to orient the right hand. Even when describing variations in tone, the pinkie is supposed to stay near the bridge. The cittern is small, though, so the arm can still be placed more or less parallel to the strings, rather than coming over the top, as on the guitar. Another thing to consider is that cittern technique drew on lute technique - Ann Ford used Mace quite extensively. It took me quite a long time to change over from modern classical technique to resting the pinkie on the soundboard. It was much easier for me to play loud with modern technique on a modern, high- tension instrument. The same technique just made a hell of a racket on a lower-tension instrument. Doc www.magnatune.com/artists/docrossi [EMAIL PROTECTED] To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
