Lute anyone?

[John Uhrig]

Just wondering if anyone here has tried ,or even thought about taking up the lute. I've been listening to some of Julian Bream's work and I find it fasinating. I play classical guitar and know you can re-tune it as if it were a lute, but I think the instrument itself would be fun to learn.

Thanks John

[Jim Garber]

The closest I would come to that would be to the mandolino. I have the revival equivalent of the 6 single gut-string Milanese/Lombard instrument.

Jim

[Eugene]

I tweedle with 6-course vihuela de mano: think "lute shaped like a guitar." #You're right about lute music being fun on lute; some of the literature was conceived for octave stringing and much of it on a different scale length. #The lute I suspect you have in mind is that for "renaissance" tuning (in guitar-like intervals with the third slid off one). #The fretted strings of the standard lute of baroque Germany and France were tuned to an open d-minor chord. #Then there are the myriad long-necked things: archlute, theorbo, theorboed-lute, chitarrone... #David Van Edwards has a nice article on the historic context of lute instruments.

[John Zimm]

I would love to take up the lute. The thought crossed my mind several years ago when I was taking classical guitar lessons, but soon after I took up the mandolin and that was all she wrote. One of my favorite albums to listen to is Nigel North's Baroque album.

-John.

[etbarbaric]

I for one strongly recommend study of the lute. I came to the lute in mid-life to help me understand right-hand technique for finger-style mandolino playing. The incredible depth in both the amount of lute repertoire, and the music itself is simply staggering. The lute has a long history of over 300 years... and it claims some of the most beautiful and sublime music ever written.

There is an excellent opportunity for those who would like to learn more about the lute. The Lute Society of America will host its 2004 Summer Seminar at Case Western Reserve (Cleveland Ohio) from June 27th through July 2nd. I have thoroughly enjoyed the LSA and these seminars give you a chance to hear and interact with the very best lutenists in the world along with lots of other very talented people.

Eric

[billkilpatrick]

what it all boils down to is whether you prefer to play with a pick or just your fingers. if fingers it's to be, there's a whole world out there filled with strange and many stringed, multi-course instruments, just waiting for you. if it's with a pick, all you've got is the medieval 4c /5c lute and the oud.

the first time i heard an oud the hairs on my arm stood on end...and i was a gonner.

also, price is to be considered. i don't think there's such a thing as an inexpensive lute and should it exist, don't even touch it with a stick. there are some reasonably priced ouds, however.

i've got web sites if you're interested.

sincerely - bill

[Bob A]

The oud has tempted me, but not strongly enough to actually buy one. Since I have well over a dozen mandolins, I suspect its appeal may be only in my mind.

A big reason I like the mandolin is its convenient portability and cuddly human scale. Get a lute, you might as well go back to the guitar, cello, or, gods help us, the double bass. At least with the bass, there's room for the dog when you're not playing, and a sandwich and a bottle of something can always be at hand.

[Eugene]

also, price is to be considered. #i don't think there's such a thing as an inexpensive lute and should it exist, don't even touch it with a stick. #there are some reasonably priced ouds, however.

Well, there is a breed of mass-produced, European-style lute being cheaply made in Pakistan right now. #I have only passively handled such things, but don't have too much good to say for them. #I have heard they can be set up at some expense to be made more passable. #I have collected a good many good references on Luciano Faria, who just had a web site made and may build the cheapest lute of any quality. #I have actually ordered a piece from Luciano and will offer more info as it unfolds.

[Arto]

Quote: "The first time i heard an oud the hairs on my arm stood on end...and i was a gonner."

I agree. I think the first time I took any special notice on oud was when I saw John Bilezikjian playing one in Leonard Cohen concert, on TV. I was gone, then. (I don´t have an oud but would love to have one.)

Sorry for sidetracking the original topic, but another wonderful instrument is the Turkish classical tanbur. I first got to know it when seeing "L´art du tanbur" album by Talip Özkan in a record shop ten years ago. I listened the music just for curiosity to see how such a riciculous-looking (sorry) instrument would sound like, and was gone at that moment. One of the most enlightening musical experiences in my life.

Just like hearing the shakuhachi for the first time. I was around 12 and heard it in the radio. Incredible.

Arto

[vkioulaphides]

[QUOTE]"Get a lute, you might as well go back to the guitar, cello, or, gods help us, the double bass."

How true! One of the reasons I have resisted acquiring any bass-lute-type plucked/picked instruments (although I have played them on occasion) is the vivid memory of the long and strenuous stretch from my teens to the present, a memory of dragging myself and the bass from one gig to the next one, wrestling train-conductors, trying to sweet-talk dour stewardesses, waxing eloquent before rude checkpoint-guards, and other inevitable tribulations.

So, no: Lute —#lovely. Count ME out, though. Been there, done that. In fact, the mandolin is part of my "retirement planning"—#seventeen seasons to go. The bass has been good to me, as has my profession in general; still, I will know when to cut loose.

[PlayerOf8]

I have a beautiful instrument that is labeled Spirito Sorsana - Turin, 17xx. The craftsmanship is really first rate. It is a 5 course strung with gut strings. I've never really played it to its potential. I bought some music from Pluck String Inc, and tried to make it sing, but I sounded more like Jimi Hendrix. Maybe, I should pull it out and try it again.

George

[billkilpatrick]

first of all, the fact that you are able to entertain pleasures of the mind while discussing musical instruments and just keep it at that - no reaching for the creditcard - is a thing to be marveled at. complimenti.

the cuddly human scale you mention is right on the button. what i have in mind is the charango but i think this applies to any small, plucked string instrument, the mandolin as well. when i first picked it up, after i had changed the tuning and got rid of that irritating octave course in the middle, i felt like the last piece of the puzzle had suddenly been put into place. it was so natural, so comfortable; the size was right, my fingers knew where to go, etc., etc. small stringed instruments was home.

less so, but only a little, with the oud. not only did it have a captivating and exotic sound but - now that i've learned to hold it properly and settled on a tuning - it's become easy and natural as well.

the guitar, however, could be a tuba for all the playing that gets done on it. everything - no matter what - sounds like "michael row the boat ashore."

- bill

[etbarbaric]

Hi George,

Can you tell us more about your instrument? Is it a lute-like instrument or more on the smaller mandolino scale? Do you have any photos?

Thanks,

Eric

[vkioulaphides]

[QUOTE]"if it's with a pick, all you've got is the medieval 4c /5c lute and the oud."

... or the bouzouki (Greek or Celtic), or the whole mandolin-family, or the baglama (in its various and sundry sizes and shapes), or...

P.S. No way am I fanning the flames of Instrument Acquisition Syndrome!

[Eugene]

Anybody near central Ohio still contemplating the joy of lute should come and hear Prof. Michel Cardin play the beastly 13-course d-minor lute that was popular in the baroque era at Capital University the evening of 1 May 2004. You can find some detail through the Columbus Guitar Society calendar and even more detail by writing to me. Michel has been endeavoring to record the whole of Weiss's "London Manuscript," a monumental 12-CD undertaking. He has released 11 of the 12 volumes and the 12th is coming soon! The concert will be awesome. See you there?

[Plamen Ivanov]

Hello,

I had the chance to attend a lute concert this weekend - "Music from the Court of Queen Elizabeth I" with works by Henry VIII, P. van Wilder, A. Ferrabosco, Dowland - of course and few anonymous pieces (Greensleeves amongst them). The performer was Massimo Marchese, a student of Jakob Lindeberg and Paul O`dette. He is now teaching lute in Alexandria (Italy). Massimo Marchese played an 8-string Renneissance lute, made by Paul Tomson in Oxford 1992. The performance was very nice. There were in fact few not very clear tones and chords, but in general it was a great experience. Sorry for the bad quality of the picture.

Good luck!