The question that is heartily begged, is: With all of this fall-de-rall about where to place the pinky, and how hard it is on baroque instruments or multi-course instruments, and Oh gosh, I have to lift it on occasion to play some things - Why in the world would you put it down in the first place?!? I have played lute for a long, long time and owned lots on instruments. Archlutes, 10 course lutes, vihuelas, renaissance guitars, baroque guitars, etc. etc. etc. Never have I felt the need to place my pinky on the soundboard.
Joseph Mayes ________________________________________ From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Louis Aull [aul...@comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2014 12:51 PM To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [LUTE] Re: Bare spot on soundboard. Tony, It really depends on the angle your arm enters the soundboard and the length of your pinky relative to the index finger. If your arm enters the lute top well behind the bridge, the pinky naturally falls on the sound board. So it makes a good anchor point for finding the strings as well as keeping the lute in position. As the baroque necks got longer and peg boxes got heavier, the weight of the neck could be eased by raising the neck toward your head. Unfortunately that changes the angle your forearm comfortably makes with the bridge. Watch some of the hot shots and you will see what compromise they have reached between the two. Also watch the pinky lift on the big chords that involve both the very top and bottom strings. As my lutes got bigger I found my pinky raising more and more often, and eventually I stopped putting it down. One learns how to place the thumb for each chord without putting down a pinky by the relative position to the other fingers. My arm now enters the lute soundboard from a position directly above the bridge and I pluck the strings just below the rosette. The lute rests between my legs with a 45 degree neck angle to my body. I have to warm up a bit for my right hand to correctly find the basses, but after that I just recognize the chord and the thumb finds the note. A big benefit of this position is I sit upright in the chair and both arms find a comfortable position, allowing me to play longer, without shoulder or wrist discomfort. With the pinky up you can tolerate a taller bridge and closer spaced strings. My swan neck I play now has an beautiful englemann spruce top with no finish, touching it for any reason leaves a mark. Louis Aull -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
