Hi- my theory is that dedillo was used first because it is what you do when you are used to playing with a plectrum and decide to try fingers. That way, the thumb is held against the index finger as if you are holding a pick, but then you use the index finger tip instead of the pick that could be held there with the same hand position. I know a very good jazz guitarist who dabbles in flamenco and classical and when a scale needs to be played, he plays it that way, refusing to practice alternation with i and m.
Having said that, I have experimented with dedillo, mostly on the Milan fantasies that call for it, on both vihuela and guitar and never got very satisfactory speed or sound. It sort of feels like if you spent hours a day practicing it, you could get it to work, but I never spent that much time on it to see if it was worth the time and effort. Since the back-and-forth pick action sound also happens with p-i alternation, the only difference with dedillo would be the inconsistent tone of flesh alternating with back of nail. So I think it was a temporary historical technique as plectrum players started to become finger players and before they discovered alternation with two fingers for scale passages, p-i and then later i-m (which Fuenllana thought most perfect). Dante >-----Original Message----- >From: Rob MacKillop [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 4:49 PM >To: vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu >Subject: Dedillo > > >Martyn sent me this: > >To get back to the Vihuela, - do you know anyone who plays dedillo >(I think >that's the term)? ie running passages played with index alone: >I've tried, > >and failed - dismally. > >Thanks and rgds > >Martyn > >I sympathise with Martyn. Dedillo can sound awful, and I have to say I try >it every once in a while but always with the same results. Not to >my liking. >I think it works best if the nail is a little bit long. I have seen a few >folk guitar players use the technique, but it sounds pretty lousy to my >ears, although it doesn't 'jump out' as it does when I use it. I guess that >is because the tone they produce generally is pretty rough. I imagine there >was a great variety amongst players in the 16th century regarding tone >production. Most of us arrive at vihuela via lute or classical >guitar, where >we have spent years trying to 'improve' our tone. Dedillo seems like a step >backwards. But maybe I just can't do it properly! > >Anyone out there had success with this technique? > >Rob >www.rmguitar.co.uk > > > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
