Concerning the survival of the Guitar: This is just speculation but it makes sense to me. By the time the Guitar was gaining in popular use among the low down and unwashed for banging out chords the Lute had evolved into something not everyone could play that was not a serious musician. The concept of "banging out chords" in some tavern was not something you might find being done with a fourteen course Lute. Of course many serious musicians were playing the Guitar as well as the Lute. However the Lute had become like many creatures in nature that attained eventual extinction, they became to highly specialized to change as the environment changed, in this case the musical environment. The Guitar survived because it was more adaptable and less difficult to string and play.
Vance Wood. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stewart McCoy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Lute Net" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 10:34 AM Subject: Vihuela vs guitar > Dear Roman, > > There may be some truth in what you say, but it doesn't explain why > the guitar flourished, and the lute didn't. Both instruments are a > bit on the quiet side for large concert halls. > > Best wishes, > > Stewart McCoy. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Roman Turovsky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Lute List" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 5:04 PM > Subject: Re: vihuela vs guitar > > > > > And my question included the possibilty > > > that the preservation of the "lute third" location might have > doomed the > > > lute for the more modern play (like 19th C.). > > No, the sociology of music (i.e. concert hall) was responsible for > lute's > > demise. > > > RT > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
