because the group in which i play tends to walk around
while performing, i tried putting a very simple
harness on my oud made from leather thong boot laces.
i was warned against it, saying i'll be sorry when i
drop the oud ... ahh ... but i was so much older then
..
i passed one leather thong down across the face by the
bridge, under the strings, around the girth and
attached another thong at the front which went off at
a right angle - past where a button would be if i
could bring myself to drill a hole in my lovely oud -
around the butt end of bowl to join the first thong at
the back. i tied this off at the top near the
uppermost part of the face, ran it around my neck and
joined it to the peg-box, under the strings, behind
the nut.
it was simple, unobtrusive and (i thought) safe ...
till the oud slipped out of the harness and bounced
off the pavement. luckily, there was no damage done
but even as i'm writing this, my toes are curling.
the problem was solved by switching to a charango with
wooden pegs and by buying a smaller "kids" oud which
is lighter and much easier to handle.
(still wincing) - bill
--- Christopher Schaub <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> I wonder about the materials used in 16-18th cent.
> clothing, especially pants
> and shirts. I know that wearing leather pants would
> make holding the lute much
> easier while sitting. It would be stylish at a
> minimum.
>
> --- Martyn Hodgson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> >
> > Before inventing new ways of holding an
> instrument, it's useful to look at
> > what early players actually did.
> >
> > For the lute the following come to mind:
> >
> > - Iconography depicting extended peghead lutes (ie
> theorboes, archlutes, late
> > german baroque lutes) frequently shows the use of
> a ribbon/strap running from
> > the base to an attachment point on the rear of the
> peghead eg from Castaldi
> > (1622) right up to Scheidler(c1800). Most extant
> early instruments of this
> > type also have attachment points (buttons/slotted
> fittings).
> >
> > - Many later baroque lutes have two buttons: one
> at the base and one on the
> > back close to the neck. It has been suggested
> (Spence) that a chord was
> > passed between the two and looped around a coat
> button (early coats were much
> > heavier/stiffer than modern). I seen gut strings
> fastened on a few 18thC
> > lutes but, of course, these cld be later
> additions. To be frank, I've tried
> > this method and have not been happy with the
> results - has anybosy else?
> >
> > - rest the lute against a table ( early sources
> and some iconography) - this
> > also assists the resonance of the instrument
> (rather like Aguado's
> > 'tripodion').
> >
> > Finally, it seems to me that most (not all)
> depictions of lute players show
> > the instrument being held fairly high ie against
> the lower chest rather than
> > the stomach (rather akin to the flamenco guitarist
> position compared to that
> > of a modern 'classical' guitarist) with the body
> resting on the left thigh
> > rather than in the lap. A holding arrangement
> should allow for this position
> > and posture.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Send instant messages to your online friends
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> > --
> >
> > To get on or off this list see list information at
> >
>
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
> >
>
>
>
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