I don't know Foscarini's music, but I can say a few things about the thumb in general. There's nothing more or less impractical about using the thumb than any other finger. It's a matter of practice. One can use the thumb for rapid linear passages with up/down strokes on single strings, or with down stroke + slur on single strings. Flamenco playing relies on thumb techniques quite a bit. There I go again, injecting modern music and technique into the discussion. But how can a modern person play las Jacaras and*not* think about Flamenco? See the following ... [1]http://www.strimoo.com/video/12886663/Jacaras-MySpaceVideos.html -- Christina Pluhar with Pepe Habichuela (one of the world's premier flamenco artists). Whether you like or approve of what they're doing, the collaboration (what little of it finally occurs) is obvious. And you might get a view of some thumb work in action. Here's a clip that shows some flamenco thumb technique. [2]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32rdt_flamenco-lesson-le-poucededo -pulgar In no way am I suggesting this is an appropriate technique for the Baroque guitar. But it shows how elaborate the thumb can be -- if you make it to the end of the clip you'll see some awesome upstrokes in action. How much of flamenco technique has a direct line to the Baroque? I have no idea whether the study has been done. If not, it should be. I can say that rasgueados I learned in a Baroque guitar class are not far removed from rasgueados used in Flamenco. Also, many Flamenco song forms rely on the hemiola that's so prevalent in the Spanish Baroque dances. (I would expecially love to see a study of the Jacaras... Is the oriental mode used as a way to poke fun at an ethnic group? The song is supposed to be humorous, and about the woes and tribulations of some poor schleb, isn't it? And it's very similar to Las Bularias... the name coming from "burlar", or "to joke".) I digress. If you're saying that the upstrokes Foscarini indicates are not practical in his specific context, that may be true. I don't know that music. But my inclination would be to try and take them literally and see if I wind up learning a new technique. I'll say it over and over again... the right hand is far more important than the left. cud __________________________________________________________________
From: Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> ... This is an important point - because he does often indicate that up-strokes should be played with the thumb - which is not very practical - I have tried it. -- References 1. http://www.strimoo.com/video/12886663/Jacaras-MySpaceVideos.html 2. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32rdt_flamenco-lesson-le-poucededo-pulgar To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
