How Do You Play The Vihuela?
The vihuela is a small guitar-like instrument developed in Renaissance-era Spain and Portugal, where it was favored over the lute. The vihuela has six strings and is played with the fingers, a bow or a quill, which was used like a guitar pick is today. The instrument lost popularity after the importation of the modern guitar. Hold the vihuela so that your left hand is on the fretted fingerboard and your right hand is on the strings where they cross the sound hole. You can use a guitar strap if it makes the instrument more comfortable to hold. Refer to the method book for fingerings. Place your fingers on the strings just above the frets so that the strings touch the frets. It is the fret that stops the string to create a specific pitch, not your fingers. For example, to play a B on the A string, press the string down just above the first fret so that the string touches the fret. Keep your arms and wrists relaxed. Pluck the strings with your first two fingers and your thumb. Practice us
