The Schoole of Musicke.
it will paine the sinewes and hinder your play. All the aforesaid had, both in memorie
and practises (the houlding of your Lute, carrying of your hand, and sitting vpright
with your bodie, I mean) then (in the name of God) houlding the Lute (as is aforesaid)
comelie with your thumb against your forefinger (as it were readie to stop, yet but
onelie houlding your Lute then with the thumb of your right hand (houlding the rest of
the fingers straight forth before your thumb (neither to neere the strings nor too
farre off, begin to strik the first string downward with the thumb onelie, and also
striking with your thumb behind your fingers say: Base, Tenor, Contra-tenor, Great
Meanes, Small meanes Treble. This done : then begin at the Trebles and so
goe vpward viz. backward, striking them string by string with your forefinger before
your thumb, that is, houlding downe your thumb behind your fingers, and name them in
order saying, Treble Small Meanes, Great Meanes, Contratenor, Tenor, Base,
this doing so oft, downward and vpward, nameing them, and also striking them with
the thumb behind the fingers, that you haue it most perfect and readie both in mind
& fingers. This perfectlie had : learne to know your frets in order, and in
stoping them comelie, cleanlie, & stronglie, the first string or Treble,
stopped in the first fret, by the head of the Lute with the forefinger, is
in the Treble, and so stopped in the small meanes, great meanes &c.
The first fret is
the second fret is
the third fret is
and so forth vntill you come to
which is the last fret about the neck of the Lute, but you may glue on more fretts in
fit place and space (vntill you come to
.
Againe if you haue 14. 16. or 18. strings, those bases are called Diapasones,
now hauing the names & knowledge of the strings and stops perfectly by roate,
you shall also learne to know them by booke (called Tableture.)
Kni. Now truely Timoth: I like this
method verie well, for I perceiue great reason in it : But we (in old time) haue bene
taught with rigour, not by reason, & that made vs then run, now
vnregarded; for I see, that the houlding of the thombe alwaies against the fore-finger,
giueth (not onely a great ease, & grace to the player) but also, it determineth
a certain limitation to the hand, as of necessitie it must be so: proceed good
Timotheus.
Tim. Sir, by this you see, how necessarie a
thing it is, to know how to hould an instrument, before it is to know how to stop it,
and likewise, how fit it is to know (both how to hould, & what to stop, first by
roate, before it were fit to learne by the booke: for quell the spirite, & quaile
delight. Now you know how to hold your Lute; also, what the strings and stops are,
without booke : Now you shall learne vvhat they be by the booke; look how you name
them vpon the Lute in order, vpward, and downward,so these lines, by the like
denomination, shall signifie vnto you what strings they be by Tableture:
Example.
Ome in the steed of (i) put (y) and although you, heere see but six single lines, and
vpon the Lute euerie string double, you shall vnderstand, that two strings are in one
tune, & also beare the name of but one string: as Base, not Bases,
Tenor, not Tenors. Now let vs proceede, to learne a lesson by the
booke. But first take this lesson by the way, offer not rashly to stop or strike, but
be well aduised, with what finger to stop, & with what to strike, and for that
purpose, mark what figure standeth vnder the letter, whether the figure of 1. 2. 3. or
4. for these figures represent the 4. fingers of the left or stopping hand. The figure
of 1. representeth the first or fore-finger, 2. the second, 3. the third, and 4. the
little finger. Also that letter which is to be striken downward, and if there be a
prick vnder the letter, that letter must be striken vpward : this well noted, begin to
play these stops and strokes following, striking them by 4. and 4. all in one length
of time, vntill you can play it a pace, or runne it quick.
Doe these points perfectly, not striuing at it, but with such ease, as if you did it
carelesly, obseruing the carriage both of hand & body; & when you are weary,
leaue it, and to it againe, but go to it with a willing minde.
Kni. How would you haue them learne this
lesson, not knowing the tymes ouer head? were it not necessarie to teach them that
first?
Tim. No, for the time without stops or tune,
is but an abstract, & my purpose is, first to teach them the stops, &
then the times with all afterwards: & therefore, I haue set it with all one time
ouer head, as you see, vntill the lesson be perfectly had, & both the name &
nature of that time well commited to memory, and this lesson had, than will I
instruct them in all the varieties of tymes : as followeth.
This HTML version of The Schoole of Musicke was created
by
Jeff Lee
<godfrey@shipbrook.net>.