Dear all, I have the Magno dieffopruchar, Venice, c.1550 (collection of J & A Beare Ltd, London) by Stephen Barber, and I very much like the shape of of the neck of that instrument. I suppose Stephen made it just as it is in the original. And as Martyn wrote, the shape of my left hand around that neck looks very similiar to the way violin is played
All the best, Arto On 11/5/2007, "Martyn Hodgson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Play it like popular guitars are (and often were) commonly played: ie with > the neck cradled in the V of your hand between the thumb and index finger. > Indeed as violinists do. > > > > Luca Manassero <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Dear Collective Wisdom, > I need some advice on the neck section of an Italian 6 course lute. > Last week I met in Milano a lutemaker who made a copy of the well-known > Magno dieffopruchar lute held in the J & A Beare Collection in London. I was > together with a well known Italian lutenist who, at first, refused even to > try the instrument, as the "parabola"-section neck of the lute was > incredibly deep. > After what has been a very instructive (and funny) discussion we all tried > the instrument with different results: I am a tall guy and therefore the > neck measure has not been a major issue for me, while my teacher complained > that the measure prevented him from playing easily. > I have to admit that I had never played on such a "thick" neck, but the > lutemaker insisted that the measurements taken on the original instrument > matched perfectly her neck. > I have after checked many lute pictures, including the Holbein "Ambassadors" > portrait and spent some time on the very informative page in Barber & Harris > website ([1]http://www.lutesandguitars.co.uk/htm/cat01.htm): I tend to think > she's right. The original 6 course lute neck was very "thick" (or deep, if > you prefer). > The trouble is that all 7 course (or more) lute I have played are REALLY > much more confortable to play, especially because thir necks are thinner. > Is any of the lutemakers on this list able to provide me some measures to > think about? Any advice? > By the way: that lute sounded great, with a well-balanced, clear tone and > an excellent projection. > Thank you in advance, > Luca > [2]http://liuti.manassero.net > > References > > 1. http://www.lutesandguitars.co.uk/htm/cat01.htm): > 2. http://liuti.manassero.net/ > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now. > --
