On Jul 28, 2014, at 8:16 PM, Mayes, Joseph <ma...@rowan.edu> wrote: > Zowie!! Just mention, in passing that one of the sacred cows is somehow not > the best idea, and the floodgates open!
Well, the writer said (and not in passing — it was the sole subject of his post) that resting the little finger on the top was a “crutch" and "undeveloped right-hand technique," because he didn’t understand that it was a considered and common part of lute technique; a little like telling a horn player to get his hand out of the bell because it might affect the sound, or telling an electric guitar player "it’s insane to stick electrical wires in a guitar! Unplug that damn thing before you get electrocuted, you fool!." The writer lacked basic information, and it’s a function of this group to disseminate information. So I don’t think you’ve got much cause to be zowieing. > In all of this justification for using the pinky on the face, I have heard > nothing by way of explaining why it's necessary. Not surprising, since nobody in this thread has asked why it’s necessary, which in turn is probably because nobody has said it’s necessary. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
