A philosopher used to tell his disciples that he was like the whetstone, which does not cut, but makes cutting possible; one might say the same thing about me. It could be said, ‘He wishes to teach, which he should not do, for there are others who are better prepared to undertake this than he, and who play the harpsichord far better than he’. Yet it does not follow that since I do not play as well [as they], that I therefore cannot clearly explain how to play correctly, or prescribe proper hand position, which is the foundation of good playing. For I am well aware that there are those who play better than I, but they are few in number, and they do not wish to trouble themselves with writing.

There are some masters who have their pupils place their hands in such a way that the wrist is lower than the hand, which is very bad, and properly speaking, a vice, because the hand no longer possesses strength. Others make one hold the wrist higher than the hand, which is a fault because the fingers then resemble sticks, straight and stiff. For the proper position of the hand, the wrist and the hand must be at the same height; in other words, the wrist must be at the same height as the large knuckle of the fingers.