In reading about the use of bray pins on medieval and renaissance harps, I read the following: "The beautifully decorated Capirola lute book, written in Venice 1515-1520, states that a player should 'make it so that the first fret almost touches the strings, and so on to the end, because as the frets are nearer to the string, the strings sound like a harp, and the lute appears better.' In other words, lute strings should buzz against the frets." Does the Capirola book actually say this? And if so, might this be a recommendation for buzzing lute strings? Before amplification, brays on harps and snares on drums and such obviously were used to make the instrument 'cut through' ambient noise in order to be heard. Any evidence that lutes were used this way? Thoughts? Cheers, trj
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