Dear Saw 192837, Thanks for your thanks. I'm pleased you have found our various messages helpful.
If you want to play English lute songs, like those by Dowland, Campion, and others, you need a renaissance lute with seven, or eight courses. Seven is enough, but it can be convenient having the option of a low F and low D without having to re-tune, which you get on an 8-course lute. I'd go for an 8-course. If you want to play with other people at some stage, you need to think of pitch, because that determines the size of your lute. Many players today play at modern pitch, i.e. A=440; for that you will need a lute with a string length (nut to bridge) of 60 cm. There are some people who prefer to play down a semitone (more or less) at A=415, in which case your lute should be a little larger, with a string length in the region of 63 cm or 64 cm. If you will use your lute mainly for accompanying yourself, it might be best to go for a lute of about 64 cm. The extra size gives a little bit more body to the sound - slightly more resonance in the bass - which is especially useful if you sing the melody down an octave as a tenor, not at pitch as a soprano or countertenor. It means the highest notes are just that bit lower, and so easier to sing. I have a 60 cm lute, but sometimes I wish it could offer more support to the people I accompany. Some singers ask me to tune down a semitone, even though my lute does not sound at its best at that pitch. I would advise against buying a lute from a shop. The shopkeeper has to have his cut, so his prices will be higher than you would pay if you bought direct from a lute-maker. The trouble is, until you have made contacts and friends in the lute world, shops appear to be the only option. It is worth being patient. As far as relative price is concerned, by and large you get what you pay for. You may be lucky enough to find a good second-hand instrument going cheap, but otherwise pay as much as you can afford. It is obvious from your two e-mails that you are keen to learn the lute, so go for a good one right from the start. If I were you, I would reserve judgement on things like whether to play with nails or flesh, or which right-hand technique to use. It's early days yet, and you may find your ideas change as you become more familiar with the instrument. It is a good idea to have at least some lessons from a good lute teacher, not from a guitarist who may or may not dabble with the lute. Going on courses, like a week on a summer school, is also extremely valuable. By the way, my name is Stewart. Please tell us what your name is, because I feel as if I'm writing to a convict in prison, using letters and numbers gleaned from your e-mail address. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: "saw 192837" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 11:15 PM Subject: *** SPAM *** [LUTE] New Boy's Ungrateful Response to Free Advice (Re: New Boy wants lute) > > Howdy! > > > I want to thank everyone for posting advice. I still am interested in > getting a lute. I thought I would offer more information. > > I do play classical guitar, and can read traditional music notation, > although I hate sight reading and prefer to play non-classical pieces by > ear. In other words, I do not just strum 3 chords out. I also understand > basic musical theory. > > What I really want is a renaissance lute ("English Lute"), like the kind > contemporaneous with Shakespeare, to mostly accompany myself singing, not > solo playing. I am thinking of songs of Dowland, Campion, etc, of the era. > > I have to object to the advice on getting a 13 course lute or Therobo. 13 > courses is way too many strings to tune, take care of, and keep track of. > > As for a Therobo, the problem is I dont want something that similar to the > guitar. It is my understanding the different sound of the guitar versus the > lute is partly because of the double strings, without which defeats the > purpose. I also think the renaissance lute just looks better, and the > therobo looks way too big and guitar like. > > One problem is, I started off playing the guitar without nails (I used to > play the piano). Finally I just let them grow out as I was supposed to, and > the playing is MUCH better with nails (Easier, more versatile, sounds > better). So the lute is not played with nails? Is this the general rule, or > an absolute requirement? > > Will be very difficult switch back and forth if one instrument requires > nails and the other doesn't? > > Also, I've heard it elsewhere (on the rec.music.classical.guitar newsgroup) > that the "pakistani" made lutes are horrible (the cheap ones on ebay). How > do I make sure I dont get stuck with one of these bad ones? Are they really > that bad? If there is so much demand for lutes, why are there relatively few > available? (One luthier told me the waiting period was 18 months. . ) And > why does the "early music shop" always have an unlimited amount of > suspiciously cheap lutes? (see ebay) To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
