>> There is no reason >> that anyone has explained to me, for having the little finger anywhere >> near >> the belly (Blasphemy - here come the flames) I think it's a holdover from >> books advising complete beginners. There are pretty good reasons against >> it >> - like the fact that it cripples the ring finger. If you don't know where >> the belly is after playing a month or two... >>
Why is indeed a question, but we have considerable pedantic evidence that only three fingers and thumb were used of the right hand; none of the tutors provide a notation for the fourth finger, and nothing is seen in any ms or printed tablature. Classical guitar technique and Harp technique both employ means of 'anchor'ing the hands to known strings (rest strokes for example). Typists use 'home' keys for the same purpose. Having a 'home' for the pinkie seems to me a reasonable practice to teach to the begining student. More advanced players will develop their own proceedures as they tackkle more demanding music and explore RH technique that takes the hand more up the strings for different sound. Museum instruments may have been cleaned and/or refinished to make them 'presentable'. Some may have new sound boards, ones that might never have been played on. -- Dana Emery To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
