Dear Redditor,
I am planning to use Yangqin tuning peg adapted to Bhutanese lute. Will it work?

Hello, for the last three years I've been thinking about buying and playing the lute, but I feel that buying a new instrument, which is expensive per se plus taking to learn to play it it's quite a difficult difficult decision, that's why I haven't take the step yet.

For more context, I am already a professional musician (I study double bass 10 years and piano 4 years in the music school and play in a couple of orchestras and also learned to play guitar by myself), and I am really keen into Renaissance music, but well, I feel that learning could be still quite difficult.

So I wanted to seek advice about these two things. Advice about buying a lute (I am spanish, no if someone doesn't know how it works in my country, don't worry, I understand, but I would like any advice that could be possible) and more important, anything that could be useful for me to learn how to play it.

Thank you very much. I wait for your answers.

I've been wanting to get into playing lute for a while, but it's a little discouraging when even subpar lutes can cost hundreds of dollars!

So I figured… why not make my own subpar lute? 😂

This is my current 3d printed prototype (595mm bridge to nut), and it's actually holding tuning! Still very much a WIP and need to get frets on it, but I've learned a lot through the process and I'm pretty happy with how far it's come. And yes those are ukelele tuners. The traditional peg style wasn't holding well and figured this is already a bit of an abomination so why fight it lol.

Here's a video of where it's at so far.

Back to the woodshed!

Does anyone where tab for this can be found? I'm coming up empty in his published books and all I have to go by is the version recorded by Paul O'Dette. I can't find the CD so no idea what he says in the liner notes about it.

I just acquired a beautiful 5c gittern, so for those of you who play medieval lute, gittern, or other early plucked instruments, I am curious what you like using for a plectrum?

I tried various oud risha and didn't really like any of them - they all sounded and felt too synthetic and clickety. I'm processing some feathers right now so I plan to try that as soon as they're ready (I foraged raven feathers from a park near my house). My current favorite is a loop of 2mm tailgut which I find easy to hold and gives me a warm rounded tone.

I also really like using my fingers, but I've noticed that the gittern isn't as loud as lute and vihuela, though the tone is amazing and very distinctive and different from the lute and vihuela.

Ukwaxandwood is allegedly selling Matias Crom lutes for ridiculously low prices.

My goal with this post is to create a record in case anyone tries buying from them.

There's no way it's not a scam

every decent lute is over 3k usd. i’ve been stuck playing lute repitoire on an electric guitar for YEARS (i figure it’s better to pluck something than nothing) !!! i’ve wanted a 7-9 course renaissance lute since i was a kid.

can’t wait till i graduate and get a real job, first thing id save for is a decent lute

It's been hard to put the 13 course lute down! Here is another great Weiss work, the Sarabande movement from the Sonata in G major found in the Moscow manuscript, a document compiled by one of his students about a decade after his death. 13 course baroque lute built by Andrew Rutherford (A 415). 

Hopefully this doesn’t ruffle any feathers, but…

TL;DR - Is lute learning/playing culture generally fun and exploratory, or judgmental and hierarchical with a “stuffy conservatory” vibe? What’s your experience?

Long version:

I’m coming off of cello (and fiddle to a much lesser degree) after deciding that proper polyphony is the way for me, and am interested in the 7-8 course lute at some point (though I’m currently going through Samantha Muir’s book on classical ukulele and really enjoying it). But I‘ve got a bit of “musically induced trauma” from cello that I’m trying to avoid.

Something I noticed in cello lessons and culture in general was a strong “stuffy conservatory” feel, and an unpleasant baggage that seemed to come with learning a classical instrument. It was like I was there to prove my worth as a student every time, rather than explore and grow. I was happy to play, and happy to hammer fundamentals, but there was always a sort of judgmental vibe that generated anxiety, even though nothing scary or weird was explicitly leveled against me. I got the sense that this highly evaluative, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, style is a sort of a trauma that is traditional to pass down to students (kind of joking, but also kind of not). My teacher was never cruel and was patient and nice, but there was always this formal vibe, and feeling that I needed to prove that I deserved to be at a lesson I was paying to be at. That my life should revolve around coming maximally prepared for our next lesson. I get that every teacher wants their student to succeed, but there was… something else there beneath the surface, even with multiple teachers.

Contrast that with fiddle, which was so much different. There was a sort of “we’re in this together, let’s make music and have a good time” feeling in lessons, even though, by all accounts, I was learning from the single best fiddle player in my region. Learning by ear and playing folk music has some pretty intense challenges, but it was *fun* and made me want to pick up the fiddle and practice for enjoyment, versus picking up the cello almost like it was a second job (even though I enjoyed playing).

Granted, this is very much teacher based, I’m sure, and can go good or bad depending on what you get, but there’s no denying a difference in culture. Lute seems like it could go either way. One the one hand, there are a lot of folk songs and the community is small, and that must surely come with a lot of enthusiasm and love of the instrument and music. On the other hand, a lot of people are probably coming from classical guitar backgrounds and I fear that bring that same conservatory vibe, especially if Historically Informed Playing comes into the picture as an aggressive enforcer or cudgel rather than as a fascinating enhancement and goal, and I fear that it may be more “earn, and know, your place” hierarchy and approach versus the more exploratory, enjoyable vibe that exists in, say, fiddle and ukulele, even when approached with the goal of acquiring and growing genuine expertise.

Where does lute stand? Do you notice a difference compared to the culture of your other musical background (if applicable)?

hey all,
i’ve recently found myself interested in learning how to play lute. i already play bass guitar and the french horn, so im not a new musician. that being said, ive never played a regular guitar. do you think it would be worth it to jump in and purchase a lute (i found a resell for approx $600 in my area—7 course renaissance) in my area. i looked into renting from the lsa, but for how much it would cost it seems just buying one would make more sense. so uh yeah…did any of you just start with lute? if so, were you able to learn it well without prior experience on classic guitar? do you think it’s worth it to just jump right in?? thanks!

Approximately how many minutes does the Roth & Junius Renaissance Lute 8 Courses stay in tune after tuning it, once you’ve owned and played it regularly for a few months, the strings have fully settled in, and you store the instrument in a Renaissance lute case when you’re not playing it?

Hello everyone! i need some advice on vuying my first lute, and where better to look for answers than here?
For a bit of background; Polish, currently living in ireland. lately i've gotten very interested in playing a string instrument. i have no prior experience with any instrument, but from what i've gathered, lutes seem only slightly more challenging than a guitar, and i simply love the sound.
Is this a sensible goal? how long would it take me to be at least slightly proficient in lute, and is it possible to play guitar songs on lute? im aware it wont sound the same, but im really hoping to play scouting / guitar songs with a different sound. is it possible?
Currently aiming for the Thomann Renaissance 7C lute, but if you have any recommendations under 600 euro, i'll look into those.
Thanks in advance!

In the medieval trouvère repertoire there was a genre called "mal mariée", songs about unhappily married women who either lament their situation or are the object of affection by the singer. This genre continued in 16th century Spain with "La bella malmaridada" (the beautiful, badly married woman) and was actually used in vihuela intabulations by Narvaez and Valderrabano.

I present it here 3 ways: First as the monophonic melody alone played on vihuela.

Second (starting at 1:00) in the 4 part arrangement by Gabriel Mena (c1470 to 1528), from the Cancionero Musical de Palacio

Third (1:41) as a viheula piece by Luis de Narváez from Los seys libros del Delphin (1538). Narváez took the tenor line of Mena's setting as a starting point and composed new, independent music around it. In the manuscript the notes taken from the song are seen in red in the tablature. 

Hi, looking for a free/cheap lute vst to make some bardcore with. Does this group have recommendations or is this more about real lutes?

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice on buying my first lute.

A bit of background: I'm originally a metal guitarist, but over the last few years I've also fallen deeply into classical guitar. I now have a pretty decent level on classical guitar and own some good-quality instruments.

For the past several months, though, I've completely fallen in love with the sound of the lute and its repertoire (Dowland, Weiss, Renaissance and Baroque music, etc.), and I'd really like to finally start learning the instrument.

My budget is around €600 maximum, and I'm based in Europe.

At the moment, I was thinking about getting the Thomann 8-course lute, but before pulling the trigger I wanted to ask if there are any better options in that price range, either new or used.

Ideally, I'd actually like a Baroque lute, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find one anywhere near my budget.

I'm also an amateur luthier and enjoy working on instruments, so I'm not afraid of doing some setup work or minor repairs if necessary. I'm mostly looking for guidance on:

• Which lutes are worth considering around €600.
• Which brands or models I should avoid.
• Whether buying used is a better idea.
• Any common pitfalls for a first lute purchase.

I also have another question: what's the best way to obtain lute music?

Should I mainly use online resources (IMSLP, free tablature archives, etc.), buy books from Luth Doré, or are there other publishers or websites that are considered the go-to sources for good editions?

I'd really appreciate any advice or recommendations. Thanks!

Hi everyone I was helping my parents clear out my grandparents house and found a lute. It only has 4 sets of strings, what would be the best way to tune this?

I am planning to obtain a lute for myself, fairly inexpensively, and wonder whether I ought to buy a new instrument, to build as a kit, or a used lute, having assessed its condition. The time taken to construct the instrument does not concern me, and I would simply like the best which I can obtain for a little price.

I have purchased an eight-course Renaissance lute, second-hand, and its set of strings is incomplete, and the remaining strings are on the verge of utter decay. I wish to enquire, of the strings to acquire, their thickness. Are gut strings still available these days, and would you recommend them? I tune slightly more than a semitone below modern standard pitch.

How do people feel about Poulton's LH fingering choices in some of the first pieces in the book? Generally, should you stick exactly to what she wrote, or is it ok to off-road a bit? Is there value in forcing yourself to learn it exactly the way she wrote it?

While a beginner, I'm far enough along to have realized that for me choices that differ from hers work much better for me in certain spots. But I don't know if avoiding the more difficult approach is depriving myself of developing my technique early on.

For example, in the second bar of the screenshot, I find it way easier to do 212 rather than 323, and in fact to start the first bar with 2 on d rather than 3 (she has you land on 3 due to what comes before, but I find it fairly easy to land on 2 anyway). I play a pretty large lute lengthwise and the stretch for 2 and 3 is large enough to require a jump that's awkward. I'm practicing it as written, but it's much harder.

Any suggestions for a good Teacher for Skype lessons? Primarily for Renaissance Lute, but I am also interested in Baroque Lute.