Hans Neusidler

Neusidler was a citizen of Nuremberg from the age of about twenty one until death. He was a lute maker but more important were his contributions to tablature settings for that instrument. Neusidler was one of first major lute personalities in the early history of German lute music. His tabulating of which fingers to use in stopping the strings was a first in lute music. He used a series of dots matching finger number over the position to be stopped. One dot represented the forefinger while two dots represented the middle finger. Neusidler also indicated the fingering used for the right hand and insisted that the proper way to play a running passage was to alternate plucking between the thumb and the forefinger. Emphasizing legato playing he would write a "+" mark over positions that were to be sustained. Neusidler did not give instruction as to right hand fingerings for playing chords. Between 1536 and 1549 Neusidler published eight books of lute music. ~ Keith Johnson