Fuenllana has a few moments where the third finger has to cover two courses, four strings. I could get it right about 90 per cent of the time by using one finger, as the courses on my vihuela were very close. But it is a case of swings and roundabouts. Sometimes we want the courses close, sometimes we want them further apart. Are we ever truly happy?!
One luthier told me that thumb-in players preferred wider spacing at the bridge than thumb-out players, and this led to wider spacing at the nut, and when these thumb-in players commissioned instruments set up this way, they made some of the repertoire more difficult for themselves. Fuenllana was a thumb-out player... Rob 2008/6/20 Stewart McCoy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Dear David, > > It may be that your finger tip really is too narrow, but there might be > some mileage in turning the angle of your hand, as violinists do, so > that there is a wider surface area to hold down both courses. Pointing > the left-hand fingers toward the bridge, is something we try to prevent > pupils doing, but this "bad habit" can have its uses. > > I have a small vihuela discante, with a fairly tight spacing, and I > often find it useful to cover two courses with a single un-barred > finger. My fingertips are podgy enough for that, but then I struggle to > stop a single course while playing the two open courses either side. > Sometimes I use my little finger, when really I should use one of the > other fingers, but my little finger is thinner than the others, and > causes less damage snagging up adjacent strings. > > Holding down two courses with one unflattened finger can present > problems. At first one should aim to be satisfied with getting just two > strings to ring - the lower of the upper course, and the upper of the > lower course - and simply dampen the outside strings of each pair. > Eventually, with time and practice, one finds one is covering all four > strings, and they all ring on. I think it is important not to try too > hard, but be content at first with just an approximation. If you don't > think about it too much, your fingers will find a way to do it on their > own. > > Another possible use of two courses stopped by a single finger is in > this common example: > > _1c___3d___4f___1c___ > _2d________________|_ > _2d________________|_ > __a________________|_ > ___________________|_ > ___________________|_ > > I wouldn't always finger those notes that way, but I have it up my > sleeve for when it seems the best option. > > Best wishes, > > Stewart McCoy. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: David Tayler [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 20 June 2008 22:50 > To: lute-cs.dartmouth.edu > Subject: [LUTE] Re: New piece of the month for June > > > >Gee what an annoying chord that is. > > I have seen people play all four strings, that is two courses, with > the tip of one finger. > My finger is not wide enough. > I accept this as more or less unchangeable, unless I go to a really > narrow spacing. > > Thanks for the lovely edition. > dt > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > --
