On Jun 29, 2008, at 6:35 AM, Stuart Walsh wrote: > which end of the damned feather to use, and (difficult to phrase > this one), wobbly or stiff?
Crawford uses the thin end of a strong feather. Peedu explained the details very well I thought. I have only tried this with feathers I've found on the ground like crow's feathers and they are inadequate, but I could see that with a good feather it would work. I think you just have to try different things. Some things will work better for some kinds of music or for your particular technique. Try a thick string, like a classical guitar G string for a plectrum. How far it sticks out from your fingers determines how floppy it is. If it is just a couple of millimeters it will be quite stiff. Of course bone or wood or something like that would be a lot stiffer. We can often see pretty big plectrums in the iconography, but sometimes we can't make out what they are holding. Don't ask me for links, I just remember seeing them. HTH cheers, On Jun 29, 2008, at 6:35 AM, Stuart Walsh wrote: > A guitar string (or presumably a lute string) or the thin end of a > feather is very wobbly indeed. Just out of interest I've tried both > and I can sort of see how they may work. Wouldn't you get a very > tinny, 'rebec' like sound. > > On the other hand, surely a horn or bone (or modern plastic) > plectrum or even the thick end of a feather would be wholly > different. Ed Durbrow Saitama, Japan [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/ -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
