‘The best way of play’ _ Richard Sweeney.pdf

8/11/2019 The best way of play _ Richard Sweeney.pdf

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Around13yearsagoafterm yend-of-yearrecitalasastudentstudyingclassicalguitarinDublinI

cerem oniouslycutoffthefingernailsonm yrighthand.Ihaddecidedtobecom ealutenist!Ipre-

ferredthem usic,therewasm oreofitandthepossibilityoffarm oresocialm usicm akingm adem y

choiceaneasyone.

Approxim ately5yearsago,Idecidedletthenailsonm yrighthandgrow.W asIintendingtotakeup

theguitaroncem oreandshunthelute?!TheanswerisnoIhaddecidedtoplaythelutewith

nails.

Atthetim eIdidntconsiderthecontroversyIwouldcausebythisdecisionandeventodayIfind

thereisoftenconfusionregardingtheauthenticityofthisapproach.Likem ostpeople,Ihatetobe

judgedatall,butassom eoneforwhom historicalaccuracyhasalwaysbeenoftheutmostim por-tanceto,Ididntwanttobeaccusedofhistoricalheresy!

So,whatsthedeal?M odernguitaristsplaywithnails,lutenistsdont(oratleastshouldnt)right?!

Letsthinkaboutthatassum ptionforam inute:W henthe20thcenturyluterevivalbegan,lutes

wereoftenlightlyconstructedandstrungwithverylowtensionstrings.Am odernschooloflute

playingevolved,whereluteniststendedtoplaywithatechniqueradicallydifferenttothatofthe

m odernclassicalguitar.M anyofthepioneersofluteplayingutilizedahistoricaltechniquedetailed

inseveral16thandearly17thcenturysources,wherethethum boftherighthandisplacedinside

thehand(notstretchedoutsidethefingers,likem odernguitarandharptechnique).Thestringis

thenpluckedusingthefleshofthefingeronly.

M USIC

3RDSEPTEM BER,2010|RICHARDSW EEN EY|15COM M EN TS

e best way of play | Richard Sweeney http://richardsweeney.com/the-best-way-of-play/

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Intheearlydaysoftherevival,thiswasreallywhatdifferentiatedguitaristsfrom lutenists.Agen-

erationortwolaterandwereinapositiontore-thinktheassum ptionthatthereisonlyoneappro-

priatehistoricalperform ancetechniqueforthelute.W hilstthetechniquedescribedaboveisin-

deedahistoricaltechnique,itisinfactonlysuitableforthem usicofthe16thandearly17thcen-

turiesanditisonlyoneofseveraldifferenthistoricalapproaches.Astheluteacquiredm oreand

m orestrings,thistechniquewasgraduallyanduniversallydroppedinfavourofthetechniqueof

playingwiththerighthandthum boutsideofthehandwhichfacilitatedinreachingtheadditional

basscoursesDowlandhim selfchangedhistechniquetothem orem odernthum boutm id-ca-

reer.


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Thatsallwellandgood,butthequestionrem ains:Canplayingthelutewithnailsbeconsidereda

validhistoricalperform ancetechniqueforhistoricalpluckedstringinstrum ents?

InhisIntavolaturadiLiutoediChitarrone(1632)AlessandroPiccininiadvocatestheuseoffinger-

nailsontherighthand.Infact,som eoftheadvancedperform ancetechniqueshedescribesinhis

bookIdontthinkarereallypossiblewithoutfingernails.O nesuchtechniqueiswherethenailof

theindexfingerplucksthestringbackandforthalternatingwiththefrontandthebackofthenail

inrapidsuccession.

FrancescoCorbetta,theItalianguitarteachertotheKingLouis14thofFranceplayedwithfinger-

nails.AsrecordedbyAdam EbertinhisM m oiresof1723havinghadthebadfortuneofbreakinga

nail,[Corbetta]wasunabletoplayattheFestivalwithhisconsort.InGasparSanzsIntroduccinde

M usicasobrelaguitarra(1674),thelicenciadoS.AlfonsowritesTherearesom ewhoplaywiththe

nails,whoravishthesenses,andotherswhogratethenerves.Thefollowingpictureshowsthatyetan-otherguitarist,Dom enicoPellegrinialsoplayedwithnails.


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Thom asM aceinhisM usickesM onum entof1676writestakenotice,thatyouStrikenotyour

StringswithyourNails,assom edo,whom aintainittheBestwayofPlay,butIdonot,andforthisreason

;becausetheNailcannotdrawsosweetasoundfrom aLute,asthenibbleendoftheFleshcando.M ace

obviouslyhadapreferenceforplayingwithoutnails,butitsalsoclearthatitwasnotuncom m onto

playwithnails.

SilviusLeopoldW eiss,probablythem ostfam ouslutenistofhisgeneration,travelledtoItalyinthe

18thcenturywherehebothsaw andundoubtablyplayedwithm anyItalianlutenists.Inaletterto

M athesonregardingtheluteandtheorboW eisswritesthatthearchluteandtheorboinItalyare

ordinarilyplayedwithnails.W eisslikeM aceexpressesapreferenceforplayingwithoutfinger-

nails,addingthatthatwhenheardatcloserange,thearchluteandtheorboplayedwithnailscan

soundharsh.Regardless,thefactrem ainsthatW eisswritingsim plythatitwasinfacttheexcep-

tionandnottheruletoplaythetheorboandthearchlutewithoutnailsinItalyinthe18thcentury.


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Iwanttostressacoupleofthingsatthispoint.Firstlyandm ostim portantlyIm notsayingthatits

m orecorrecttousethistechniquethatanyotherhistoricallyjustifiableperform ancetechnique

apointalreadyindirectlym adebybothW eissandM ace!M yonlygoalistodem onstratethatplay-

ingwithnailsisavalidtechniqueforhistoricalpluckedinstrum ents.Secondly,Ithinkitsworth

pointingoutthatthisplayingstyleisverydifferenttom odernguitartechnique!Iwasaclassical

guitaristforseveralyearsbeforeIplayedtheluteandIplayedwithnails.Ialsoplayedthelutefor

m anyyearswithoutnails,soIfigureIm qualifiedtocom parethestyles!

OverthepastseveralyearsofplayingwithnailsIvem adesom einterestingobservations.Im not

tryingtopersuadeanyonetochangetheirtechniqueandIm certainlynotsayingthatitsbetterto

playwithnailsthatwithout.Im alsosurethattheresultsofchangingtechniqueswillvaryforper-

sontoperson,butforthoseofyouthatareinterested,herearesom eofm yexperiencessinceIstartedplayingwithnails.

1.Icanplayfaster.Thethum b-outtechniquehasareputationofbeingalittleslowerthat

thum b-in,butIcanplaym uchfasterthanIcouldbeforebyusinglessofthefleshofm yfingerin

thestrokeandm oreofthenailinfasterpassages.IfIem ployPiccininistrick(actuallyitsnotjust

Piccininistrickreally,thesam etechniqueisdescribedinseveral16thcenturySpanishvihuelasourcestoo)ofusingthesam efingertoplayfastpassages,Icanplayreallyfast.Itishoweverabit

difficulttocontrolthisandstringcrossingsIfindalm ostim possible!


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2.Icanplay(abit)louder.Usingfingernailsalsom akesthesoundIproducebrighterwhichtendsto

carrybetterinensem ble(thisisalldebatableIknowpleaserem em berthisarejustm yownex-

periences!).PersonallyIfindthetheorbobenefitsgreatlyfrom abrightersound,butalightlycon-

structedluteplayedwithnailscansoundalittleharshifoneisnotcareful.M ostofm yinstrum ents

arebuiltbyIvoM agheriniwhodoesntshyaw ayfrom usingadecentam ountofwoodandIthink

theseinstrum entstendtosoundgreatwithnails.

3.Idontgetcallusesonm yfingersanym ore!W henIwanttogiveabitm ore,Icanuseabitm ore

nailandabitlessfleshthussavingm ypoorfingers.

4.Anotherinterestingside-effectofplayingwithnailsisthatIfindhistoricalarpeggiationonthe

theorboasdictatedinthetheorbobooksofAlessandroPiccininiandGirolam oKapsberger

m ucheasiertopulloffwithnails,infactIwouldalm ostgosofarastosaythattheyonlyreallywork

withnails.Thisisallsubjectivethoughandm aywellbeasaresultofthatnobodyreallytakeshis-

toricalarpeggiationonthetheorboseriously.Nowthatsapostinwaitingrightthere!W hereIof-tenstruggledinthepasttoplayKaspbergersprescribedrighthandfingeringsIfindthattheyare

greatlyfacilitatedwithnails.Kapsbergerm akesnom entionofnailsorlackthereof.

5.Ifindthestrum m ingpatternsofthebaroqueguitartobeconsiderablyeasierwithnailsandIalso

m uchpreferthesoundnow!Thisisalldowntopersonaltasteofcourse!

Ilookridiculous!Im constantlyridiculedbym ylong-suffering12yearolddaughterM iahforpol-

ishingm ynailsinpublic(sorryM iahsuchem barrassingparents..).Nailscanbeapaintom aintain

andtheycanbreak.O nce,whilstbrowsingthroughm usicforsaleatthelutesocietystallatthe

earlym usicexhibitioninGreenwichinLondonIwasaskedifIwasacuriousguitarist

Aswitheveryassum ptionregardingm odern-dayideasofhistoricaltechniques,letsnotrestonthe

laurelsofthepioneers!Ashistoricalperform ersitisourresponsibilitytoquestioneverythingwe

hear,seeordo.Letsencouragepeopletofindtheirownwayandletslearntoloveandem brace

thelim itationsofhistoricalperform ance!

ThankstoDiegoCantalupihttp://www.diegocantalupi.it/forsendingm ethefollowingim ages

ofFilippoDellaCasa(17371810).


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15THO UGHTSO NTHEBESTW AYOFPLAY

3RDSEPTEM BER,2010AT21:50

AthoughtprovokingarticleRichard.Arethereothercom parisonsvalidherewiththeguitar?

Nailwearforinstance,nailshape,com binationoffleshandnailonthestring,uniform lengthof

StephenReck


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nailornot-ringfingerslightlylonger?

Anyhoo,

Thanks

4THSEPTEM BER,2010AT17:40

Thankyouforthisinterestingpost.W hileIdontusenailsandneverstudiedm odernclassical

guitar,Iam veryinterestedintheevolutionofright-handpositioninluteplayingtoday.

AsnearasIcanjudge,theresurvivesjustasm uchevidenceforathum b-outtechniqueasfor

thum b-insidefrom the16thcenturyonward.Obviously,thum b-outtechniqueisrequiredfor

m orethansevencourses,andwasthem ostprom inentlydepictedstylefrom the17thcentury

onward.Luteniststoday,especiallybaroquelutenists,seem toshuntheauthenticthum b-outtechniqueforsom ethinginbetween,probablybecauseofanachronisticassociationswiththe

differencesbetweenright-handpositioninm odernclassicalguitarandlute.Ithinkitstim eto

getoverit.

TheoneconIm issedfrom yoursum m aryofthedisadvantagesofusingnailsinlute-playingis

thatyousim plycannotusenailsongutstringsunlessyouaream illionaire.

RA


@ Roninterestedcom m ents,thanksforyourinput!

Itotallyagreewithwhatyousayregardingthum b-outtechniqueinthe16thcentury.People

canbereallyfunnyaboutthis.O nce,inam aster-classwithPaulODetteinLondonIwasnearly

lynchedforplayingsom e16thcenturym usicthum b-out!Paulwasgreatandpointedoutthat

althoughthereseem stobem orem entionofthum b-inthanthum b-out,thatittooshouldbe

consideredanoptionhistorically.

Iveheardlotsofinterestingreasoningaroundthissubjectincludingthatonlylargerlutes

whereplayedthum b-outbecausetheplayercouldntreachotherwise!Nonsense.Also,ifnails

werealsousedduringthe16thcenturyandIhavenodoubtthattheywerethenthisobvi-

ouslynecessitatesathum b-outtechnique!

Handsupforthegutstringspoint.M ythum bworksgreatwithgut,butm yfingerscansliceup

stringsifIplaytooloudly.Im stillscratchingm yheadaboutthisone,buttherem ustbeasolu-

RonAndrico

RichardSw eeney


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tion!ActuallyIvealwayswantedtoaskAndrewLawrenceKingaboutthat,Ifigurehedknow

som ethingaboutit.


Veryinterestingpoint!

Itriedtousenailsonm ylutes,andIplayedm ylastexam withthem odernguitar,usingvery

short(sym bolic)nailsandgutstrings(withsom eVilla-LobosandM artin).

W hatInowthink,aftersom eyearsofplayinglutesishere.

Idontusenailsonrenaissancelutes:Im notabletoobtainagoodsound,bothusingthum b-in

orthum b-out.

Thesituationisalm ostthesam eonthearchlute,butI(now)usenailsonthetheorbo,baroqueguitarandbaroquelute.

Thestrangethingisthatthebaroquelutesoundsm uchbetterwiththenails,andthearchlute

doesnt:tism eansitsnotaproblem concerningthedoublestrings.

Piccininiisperhapsthem ostfam ousplayerwhousedthenails.

Heexplainedalsoinaverydetailedwayhowtouseacom binationoftheflashofthefingertip

andnails:

chequandosifarunapizzicatasipiglierdettacordaconlasom m itdellacarne,&urtan-

dolaversoilfondo,sifar,chelugnalascisfuggiretutteduelecorde,efarannoarm onia

buonissim a..

whenyoupluckastring,youtouchthestringwiththehighestpartoftheflash,and,pushing

thestringtowardthesoundboard,youletthenailescapethetwostrings,anditsoundsvery

good(m aybesom eonecandoabettertranslation)

Inthesourcesyoum entioned,youshouldaddDallaCasa.

Hesaystasteggiareconleunghieandclearlyshowstheuseofthenailsontherighthand(Im

sendingyouaphotoItooksom yearsago:perhapsyoucanputithere).

AlsothereisasourceaboutFrancescodaM ilanousingsilverthim bleswithagoosefeatheron

it(using,Ithink,thum b-in)

Certifiedanhistoricaluseofthenails,form etherearesom eunansweredquestions.

Howcouldtheyusenailsonthinygutstrings?

Also,wheretheyabletohaveverysm oothnailswithouttheabrasivepaperwehaveandusetoday?

Inanycase,Im surethatonesystem isnotbetterthantheother,andbothwereusedatthe

DiegoCantalupi


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sam etim e,andalsolater(Sorneverusedandlikednails).

Eachoneshuldm akeachoice,judgingwhatisbetterforhim ,histechnique,hisapproachwith

theinstrum entandhisestheticfeeling.

Andthesetwolastelem entsaretheheartofthem atter:itsenoughtohavealookatthis

videotounderstandthatnailsarenottherealproblem

http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=-NXO cPzfL2g


@ Diego,thanksforyourcom m entsandfortheim agesofDallaCasaIveaddedthem tothe

post.

Irem em beralsoreadingaboutFrancescodaM ilanousingsilverthim blesonhisfingers.Thats

areallyinterestingoneandfoodforthoughtwithregardswhatsoundweassociatewith16thcenturylutem usic.

Ithinkyourapproachsoundsreallygreattobeabletoadaptonestechniquetodifferentin-

strum entsisagoodthinginm ybook,althoughpersonallyIvenotbeenabletodoitandprefer

tousethesam etechnique.Interestingly,Ihadanarchlute(byM agheriniofcourse!)whichI

thoughtsoundedfantasticwithnails.

M y10courselute(byJacobsen)doesntreallyworksowell,buttheinstrum entisalreadysobright(IboughtitwhenIplayedwithoutnailsandlovedthebrightnessthen)thatIhavetobe

verycarefulwhenIplayit.Im planningtoreplacethislutewithanotherinstrum entby

M agheriniandam confidentthatwillsolvetheproblem !

Thanksalsoforthelink!M rPiancaisaninterestingcasebuthasnothingwhatsoevertodo

withhistoricalperform ance.


dearRichardIam veryhappytoreadyouropinion.Ivebeenstudyingrenaissancelutefor30

years(IstartedwithLucaPianca)andfinallyIknowsom eonewhoisthinkinglikem e.AlwaysI

playeditwithnails,Im sureitscorrecttoplaytheluteinthisway,thesoundislikeapearl(as

Piccininisays)thevoicesarebetterseparated,sothem usicisnotboring.Acom m enttorein-

forcethisopinionisthefactthatinm anypaintingsyoucanseethehandoftheplayervery

closetothebridge,Im surethatthesoundoftheluteisclosertoanharpsichordreatherthan

anHarp.W hatdoyouthink?

Iplayonlyrenaissancem usicespeciallyElisabethanperiod.Iplaytwo10courseslutesm ade

RichardSw eeney

nicolalessi


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byLucBreton(Lausanne)

oneofthem wasownedbyJ.Bream ,andIm veryproudtoofit!

Pingback:RichardSweeney:An18thcenturytheorbo

12THJUNE,2012AT21:49

dearNicol,Ialsothinkthattheaestheticofabaroqueguitaroralutesoundwasverycloseto

anharpsichordasyouwriteinyourcom m ent.Richard,interestingpost!claudio

3RDAUGUST,2012AT08:34

Thisisapersonalpreference.Asyousay,thereisnocorrectwaytoplaybutonecanbem ore

orlessauthenticforthetim eandnow,itseem s,theplace.(W henwillitstop?)Theonlycri-

tiqueIhaveisthatm ostoftheexam plesofnailtechniquecom efrom theendofthelutes

prom inence,atthetim etheguitarwasalreadyfavouredatVersailles,andm ostofthem usic

thatIwanttoplaycom esfrom the16thcenturywhenfingernailswereevidentlyfrowned

uponinthebestcircles.Iagreewiththecom m entregardinggutstringsandIpreferthum bout

fingertiptoneandattackwiththehandonthebridge.Lastly,canornam entsbeplayedinfullif

thetem poisquick?Butwhoam I

.

3RDAUGUST,2012AT19:17

HiDavid,cheersforyourcom m ent!Doyouhaveasourcethatsaysthatplayingwithnailswas

frowneduponinthe16thcentury?Idbeinterestedtoseeit.

Im sureyourerightregardingpersonalpreference,Im rem indedofM aceandW eisscom -

m entsaboutnailplayingsoundingawful!O nethingIllsaytoscepticalnon-nailersisthatIve

alwaysm anagedtosurprisepeoplewiththesoundyoucanm akeontheluteortheorbowith

nails.TheredoesnthavetobeanythingharshaboutthesoundandIactuallym uchpreferthe

sound,butthatofcourseisjustanotherexam pleofpersonalpreferenceIguess!Listentom y

audiosam plesandjudgeforyourself.

4THAUGUST,2012AT03:27

Ishallhavetogobacktom ysourcesbutifyourreadThom asM acescom m entswithananny

likechillyoum aygettheim pressionthatthesom ewerem isguided.Isntthereacom m ent

claudioscozzafava

DavidRichards

RichardSw eeney

DavidRichards


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alsointheVarietyoflutelessonsaboutscurveyknaves?

Ibelievethatitisnotpossibletotouch(acom m onlyusedwordinthiscontextim plyingthenib-

bleends)bothstringsatonceinadoublestrunginstrum entifoneusesthenailalone.Ifone

(horrorofhorrors)playsasinglestrunglutethenanythingwilldo,evenaplectrum ,except

perhapswithachitarrone.Thereisam pleevidenceofsinglestrungchitarronesandcertainly

m anym odernchitarronistsusethem butweretheyalteredinthelate17thcentury?Diana

Poultoncertainlythoughtso.

SothisiswhatIbelieve:throughouttheluteera,thefingertipswerepreferredgivingthat

lovelyhum anyelptothetheattackandadistinctlegatolikeanun-notchedorganpipeandre-

quiringdeliberatetem poswhichallowfullexpressionoftheexpectedornam ents.Onecould

notbereferedto(approvingly)asartificial(fullofartifice)unlessthem usicwasfullyorna-

m ented,whichitseldom isthesedays.Com paretheinventionsintheClavierbuchleintotheir

ornam entedcousinsintheW illhelm Freidem annversionforanappreciationofwhatwasex-pectedm id17thcentury.Ifoneoptsforfast(undanceable)tem pitheornam entsarenotpossi-

bleastheyneedtim etospeak.M usicisalivingartsoanythingisrightaslongasitissincere

andcom m unicative.W hetheritisauthenticisanotherthingandwhetherthatm attersisan-

otherthingalso.IplaytheBrahm schaconneforthelefthand.Itisdefinitelynotauthentic

baroquem usicbutIloveitanywayandhavenointentionofstopping.Thesam ewiththeBach

Busonichoralepreludes,pianisticphotographsandexquisite.W hatgetsupm ynoseistheoft

encounterednarcissisticandaggressivedefenceofevidentlyunauthenticperform anceprac-

ticeasright,frequentlyornam entedwithquoteslikeBachetalwouldhavedoneitthiswayiftheyhadourim porovedm oderninstrum ents.Iacknowledgethem oreresonantm odern

stringsandtheneedforaperform ingm usiciantohavequicklytunableinstrum ents(toavoid

penniesbeingthrown)whichleadsm etoanotherinterm inablepoint.M usicinthe16thcen-

turywasnotpublic:itwasprivateandhappenedm ostlyinthehom e.O fcoursethiswasnot

alwayssobutevenperform ersofthecallibreofDowlandplayedforsm allgroupsonly.Inthis

settingtherewasplentyoftim e.Therewerenotrainstocatchandnodestinationotherthan

bedafterwards.Halciondays.Perhapsitwastheneedsofprofessionalism ,m orevolum eand

m orereliabletuningandthedisplayofvirtuosity,thatchangedthings.Begining,likefootball,

ofcourseinItaly.W hateverhappenedtotherenaissance?Bestwishes,DavidRichards

4THNOVEM BER,2012AT15:16

Veryinterestingpost!Itriedbothoverm anyyears,anditseem stom ethatthestigm athatus-

ingnailshaswithm anylutenistsisjustoverthetop.Inm yview,itreallydependstoalarge

partonthephysicallayoutofthehandsoftheindividualplayer.Peoplehaveverydifferent

shapesoffingertips,aswellas\consistency\,ifIm aysayso.Andifonecom binesnailsandfin-gertips,this\hybrid\isevenm oreindividual.Soonecantsayonesizefitsall.Tim etolayoff

thedogm a.

PhilipGoeth


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4THNOVEM BER,2012AT16:55

HiPhilip,Icouldntagreem ore!

21STDECEM BER,2012AT22:26

PhilipGoeth,veryright!AlsothanksforthisarticleIchardAndfreedom forallchoosethe

techniquewhichisthem ostcom fortableforyou.Butisisagreatarttoshapeyournailsso

thattheyproduceannicesofttoneonhistoricalinstrum ents.http://www.youtube.com

/watch?v=d5PZlJ0tzsA&list=UU27LZvLPTJFa6m cPPqdM uRQ&index=1

25THJUNE,2013AT14:45

W hatawonderfullyillum inatingpage!Thereisgreatwisdom here...M ightIaddthatIagree

universallywitheveryone(esp.Rich&Philltim etobreakoutofthebox)andhaveadopteda

m ore\Iberian\approachtom usicm aking.W hatfreedom andwithsuchinstinctivejoy!After

all,weareallindividualintheeye\s...NicetoneontheintroHerm an...areyousellingsom e-

thing?;)M erryonpluckers...

CO M M ENTSARECLO SED.

RichardSw eeney

Herm anVandecauter

GordonHawthorne


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‘The best way of play’ _ Richard Sweeney.pdf