Luteshop's Top Tips - Left-hand Technique

[@memomusica]

Thank you for these videos Martin and Francis! I believe you found a good balance between limiting the instruction to the necessary basics and still addressing key nuances that a beginner without teacher wouldn’t usually think about by him-/herself. I know a number of new players who’ll be very glad about these videos and I’ll refer them to your channel! Since I began teaching I’ve gained a new understanding for our instrument. When trying to rationalise and explain many of those aspects we already have deeply ingrained in our mind and fingers one gains an insight into how much of a science lies even behind the simplest little Fantasia being performed. Without even mentioning everything that goes into making such an instrument, stringing and fretting it, there are all these aspects of sound production, left hand questions where finding a good fingering can turn into a game of »joint chess«, phrasing, and eventually questions of musical delivery. The lute as a whole comprises all these varied disciplines where each one could stand on its own: tone production as a kind of meditative practice (Anthony Rooley likes to point to »Zen in the Art of Archery« in that respect), finding left hand solutions as an exercise of both dexterity and strategy, the actual musical performance as a fine art in the truest sense and all questions of lute construction and maintenance as an elaborate craft. Perhaps this explains why the instrument was such a favourite among committed amateurs for such a long period of time: It invites and rewards truly indulging oneself, practically over a lifetime, without ever getting pigeon-holed in one discipline but instead maintaining an interest in all of them simultaneously. In that sense the lute really is a "Renaissance Man's" pastime.

[@susannekalejaiye4351]

full of useful tips, thank you. The wonderful thing abut these three videos, is that each has pinpointed useful information, and the student can return to each as often as necessary. I'll be reusing this and the first quite a bit until these things begin to become automatic.

[@erwo_fella]

Brilliant. I've solved at least tow big problems with my left hand, namely barré and extensions. Thank you a second time, @martin.

[@mw33213]

Thank you so much, these videos are really helpful! I have a question about the left hand thumb. Is it really ok to tighten the top joint and bend the thumb backwards like I think I saw in the video? I'm coming over from violin and that feels really sacrilegious to me lol. Thanks again. Cheers :D

[@luteshop]

It's always a bad idea to tighten anything! The way the thumb looks varies from person to person - in some people the relaxed position looks like the last joint is bent back, in other people, not. It's worth trying to play without the thumb even touching the back of the neck - it's surprising how little this needs to happen. I hope that helps.

[@mw33213]

@@luteshop hi martin, thanks for your reply. Yes, that helps! I will try to relax my thumb :)

[@Gisbertus_Voetius]

Woe, this is fantastic!

[@dollofshadows1703]

I've played guitar for years, both acoustic and electric, and have been interested in the lute for a long time as well. Is that a particular lute you can go out and buy, or is it something custom made? I would love to find one similar to this...

[@luteshop]

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a cheap lute. With the guitar or the violin, you can buy a cheap factory-made instrument which will get you started, and you can upgrade later. With the lute there are no factories, only individual makers working alone. But if you are interested in the lute, you can hire one (the Lute Society of America and the Lute Society in the UK) and this is the best place to start. If you decide you really want to play the lute, then you can buy a good one from an individual maker which will last a lifetime and will be worth the money. If you buy a "cheap" lute, it's not so cheap anyway (compared to a guitar or a violin) and it may even be impossible to resell when you "trade up". So my advice would be to hire before you buy. You can find details of my lutes at www.luteshop.co.uk.

[@alfonluque]

¡ Muchas gracias por tan útil información!. Thank you very much, very useful information!

[@Armansurchi]

Please help me how to use it by left hand , i really can’t play by right hand

[@luteshop]

I assume you're left-handed. Some left-handed people find they can play "right-handed", others find it too difficult. If you play "left-handed", of course everything is just reversed - the same technical considerations apply.