Strangely enough the lute in the Costa's painting has eleven frets (instead
of twelve) and the tenth fret "covers" only the 2nd, 3rd and 4th course.
Paolo Busato lute-maker
www.busatolutes.com
e-mail: paolo.busatoatbusatolutes.com
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Winheld" <dwinh...@lmi.net>
To: <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 5:53 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Best Body Frets?
William,
While body frets were certainly not standard (Francesco was just one
player known for going above the frets, as not doubt was Pietro Bono and
others) , they were an option going as far back as the late 15 Century-
see Lorenzo Costa's "Concert", ca. 1485-95, National Gallery, London. 3
ebony looking frets right there on the 5 course lute.
Anyway, Not quite the point of my question. Been there, done that. My six
course lute was body fretless for decades, and I had zero trouble nailing
the notes with perfect intonation, after some practice. In fact, I have a
new student who is a violinist. He almost can't stand ANY of the frets-
neck and body- interfering with his ability to get the perfect intonation
he is used to, and accomplishes very easily by touch/hearing. At least as
beginner, he finds them very difficult.
But the necessity of clear, defined singing tone for those last 3, 4, or
more semitones takes precedence in the music I am playing on these days.
Which is why I put them on my eight course lute, which I was playing
without body frets for the first 6 months after I got it- and yes, it is
great practice. But the freedom to get really get accurate intonation was
trumped but the need for more clearly defined tone. A pity, really, as the
12th fret requires some tricky slanting to get the octave "n" in perfect
tune from the first down to the 4th course, then others take their
position cues from that fret. And they are not all perfect- compromising
happens.
17th century French practice is not 18th century German practice. While
Dowland mentions ten tied frets in addition to body frets, 9 seems to have
been standard and sufficient for the French virtuosos, but Weiss has you
going right up to the octave, and there seem to be quite a number of late
swan neck lutes with 14 total frets.
Sam- I wouldn't use that double sticky tape for more than temporary
position exploring. I thought it was the cat's pajamas myself for a few
weeks, then they started getting knocked around, and the sound (on my
lute, of course!) was markedly inferior to properly glued frets. The tape
layer that carries the glue creates a barrier to proper sound
transmission- already compromised the further up you go- and makes fret
thickness sizing more troublesome. Just my experience.
Dan
On 9/26/2012 12:26 AM, William Samson wrote:
What nobody has mentioned yet is that body frets, while not unknown,
were comparatively rare back in the day. There's a brief mention of
them in 'Varietie' and only a few paintings show evidence of their
use. Accurate stopping of the string on the soundboard might well
have
been the norm - and of course a 'singing' tone would be out. I
suspect
the reason people want them is that Dowland used fret positions right
up to the 12th, and of course all the Bream recordings that lurk at
the
back of many players' minds have a wonderful sustained tone on these
notes. Would Dowland himself have used them or would they be
regarded
as a crutch for amateur performers who couldn't stop the string
accurately - a bit like some learning violinists use tied-on frets?
After the longer-necked lutes of the early 17th century came along
(neck/body join at around the 10th fret usually) you have to look
hard
to find pieces that use notes above the 10th fret, for the rest of
that
century.
Bill
From: Dan Winheld <dwinh...@lmi.net>
To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
Sent: Wednesday, 26 September 2012, 0:37
Subject: [LUTE] Best Body Frets?
A question tossed onto the waves of this Ocean of Lute Wisdom-
Any consensus regarding the best material for body frets? My woodies
often sound a little too "woody"- they are some light colored wood,
no
idea what species; and lately I've been knocking them off the
soundboard. So instead of just regluing them, I wonder if other
materials might sound better (but still be easily glued, preferably
with white glue?)
I can think of ebony, maybe other legal/available tropical or other
hardwoods, other materials? Ivory-like materials, celluloid, etc? And
a
format that's easy for the workshop-challenged non-luthier to deal
with. (non-tapered toothpicks, half-round or something of that
nature.)
Thanks, all.
Dan
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