Jim, I guarantee you that the one I'm making will not look like junk, but I can't guarantee the sound until I string it.
> Sorry to backtrack here, but I saw a finished version of one of those > flat-back lutes the other day. It looked and sounded like a piece of junk. > Yours, > Jim The sound chamber seems to have a decent resonance (from tapping on it). It becomes a question whether the flat back design can come up with a similar sound to the gourd shaped lute (but as someone, I think it was David, mentioned, there was a popular flat back lute shaped and strung instrument of the Elizabethan era - something like Opherion, but I lost the email). As I have a bit of experience with making stringed instruments I have made some modifications in the kit I bought, let's see what happens. The shape of the sound chamber is important in some instruments, and less so in some others. I have nothing other than speculation to say that the sound of the Paraguayan harp comes from the shape (an elongated curve rather than the closed curve of the lute). I think it comes not from the shape of the chamber but from the ability to make the "back" itself a resonating element because its curved shape allows it to be thinner. But, as I've mentioned before, there is a significant difference in the "direct pull" harp and the bridged instruments such as the lute. But if anything that doesn't meet your specifications will automatically be called "junk", then I'll have to avoid the conversation. Two days ago I was at a workshop where we worked modifications to some 15th and 16th century motets for a mixed bag of harps. (We didn't modify the music, just which type of harp should play which line to best approximate the sound - we had only four able to attend that night: a wire harp, two full sized Celtic nylons and my double strung Celtic). By shifting the parts to the best ancient sound we were able to put something together that the group as a whole will be able to play, and found some places where some of my other ins truments may apply. So I ask you all not to denigrate my effort to add another old instrument to my repertoire, the flat back gives me the opportunity to make a "lute" without committing my entire financial resources to it. If I really want to be strictly ancient I'd just stick to my psaltery, pictured as much as 3000 years ago. (Or my bowed psaltery, which is a modern invention but looks and sounds Medieval). Best, Jon
