Re: Lute tablature

[David Raleigh Arnold]

On Thursday 22 May 2003 01:04 am, Michal Seta wrote:
> On Wed, 21 May 2003 14:30:06 -0400
>
> David wrote:
> > tab only has *one voice*, and that is a
> > *serious* limitation in spite of all the braggadoccio coming from
> > some other lute players
>
> could we at least settle for *one polyphonic voice*?

No, because that does not address the issue.  Sorry.

> And I'm not a lute player.
>
> The thing is, as I see it, that performance technique on modern
> plucked instruments has changed from what was considered 'correct'
> technique on a lute (and other period plucked/string instruments),
> hence the confusion in interpretation of the notation standards.

That speculation is inaccurate and not to any point.  I have seen an 
individual play lute, banjo, and guitar all very differently.  I simply 
considered him to be an idiot, and now that I can play all three much 
better than he could, I consider him even more to be an idiot.

Most paintings of lute players show a bad hand position, but 
Caravaggio's lute player as Orpheus shows quite a good one, although 
the right hand is somewhat bent out of shape to suggest motion.  Then 
as now the amateurs outnumbered the professionals and therefore 
paintings do not give a reliable indication of performance practice, 
although many would like to insist that they do, because they would 
like to play in the same manner as the players of the day.  Another 
attrubute of a dead instrument is that its players want to play like 
dead people in technique as well as interpretation.  The latter is 
good, the former is bad.
>
> But then, I'm not a scholar, either.

Being a scholar wouldn't do much good in this case.  Thanks for trying. 
DaveA

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