A number of ergonomic subtleties here- very dependent on individual hand/finger/thumb configurations, what lute- shape, size relative to the player, holding position, stringing- for universal hard & fast rules (beyond the obvious relating to thumb-index diminutions & not damping the next course if it needs to sound) Some players- including a few of my own students- do have to follow dt's injunction against it for the reasons he gives. I have never had a problem playing rest strokes, but I use them ONLY in the bass- never beyond the 5th course, and not on the 5th if it would "cause a bump in the sound" or engage the wrist inappropriately. In order to do it correctly- for my technique- it is, in fact, very much a "graze"- sweeping smoothly through both strings of the course and resting lightly on the next- not like the deep digging that I used to do on the classical guitar. Care must be taken not to splat the strings of the course. But this must be avoided everywhere, with any type of stroke.
I have found that on the multi-course lutes, it becomes harder NOT to do thumb rest strokes at certain, but variable points- the lower into the bass range one goes. As to Dowland (or anyone else) we don't need scriptural sanction for every little thing. Of course, any and every last bit of information our illustrious ancestors have left is vital. But we can't be scared to just play. Be bold, but be informed. Or the other way around. No rest strokes on the chanterelle, in any ordinary sense; unless you are playing out of raised, classical guitar RH stance. High wrist, little finger no where near the sound board. Doesn't work on HIP lutes, and especially not of course on a double chanterelle. I have, on occasion, tried very slow rest strokes from the thumb under position (little finger down & in contact) for deep-into-the-finger-pad "feel", but strictly experimental & exploratory. Never became a practice or performance technique. On Baroque lute, with single first & second courses, playing thumb out (and over & up), Nigel North instructed me never to use rest strokes on the first or second courses. Dan >Some teachers teach the rest stroke in the bass for both renaissance >and baroque. I don't, because it unfortunately affects the wrist and >then the tone. I've heard some people do it it well, but there is >often a bump in the sound, and also the technique is prone to timing >issues. Perhaps that is fixable. You can make a case for a "grazing" >stroke, however. >I do teach and rely upon the single graze and double graze for >chords, and particularly for the earlier repertory. Basically, the >thumb hits one or two and the first finger hits two, three, or four >simultaneously. When struck properly, all strings vibrate in a plane, >which I now can test with a high speed camcorder. >dt > >Do any early sources describe something that could be interpreted > >as a "rest stroke" being used on the chanterelle? > Obviously you can't use rest strokes when you're playing > >thumb-index diminutions, and you don't want to be damping the string >>directly below your thumb if it's supposed to be sounding, but as a >>general rule I think that wherever possible rest-stroke was the >>default way to strike a bass string with your thumb right from the beginning. >> > >Nobody knows what Dowland did. Is it so important? -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
