Hi Nick, Despite seeming like this is a problem, it's actually a good sign; it's okay for your pinky to move a bit. The fact that you are getting some movement tells me that you're definitely doing the "swinging" technique correctly, as the movement must be coming from your elbow and not your wrist or fingers. As you progress and your arms and hands get used to the movement, you will gain a finer control and your pinky will move about less on the soundboard. Keep up the good work!

Hi Martina, Welcome to the course, and glad you solved the tuning mystery! It's a good job you noticed as you may have lost a few strings otherwise. Let me know if you have any other tuning questions. Alex

The issue I'm having is that when I swing from the elbow, my pinky slides up and down the soundboard rather than staying fixed on one spot, which I can see is not what should happen. Any ideas how to stop that happening?

Mystery solved! I was using Forescore to tune the lute and Forescore is showing the note 3 half tones higher as it is since the last update. I have now used a clip-on tuner and re-tuned the lute to G.

Hello Alex, I am new here. Have just got a 7 course lute and been going through the exercises in the Tablature section. The lute is tuned to G with A=440. I have also check your instructions in this section. However, your lute sounds 3 half tones higher in the videos (tablature section) than my lute. Instead of open string g I would have to play A#. Do you have any advice or thoughts why this might be? I don’t know what to look for. Thanks, Martina

Thanks for the suggestions, Alex. Since joining the course, I've been alternating between standing and sitting with the lute. For seated playing, I'd like to recommend a keyboard bench. They're relatively inexpensive and the seat padding is comfortable too.