Dear Josh: My personal preference would be for an eight course Lute. I have used an eight course instrument for most of my life and due to my musical interests I have found it more than adequate for me. I play six course music quite easily on it, seven course music is even easier with an eight course instrument because you do not necessarily have to finger the seventh course as is common in a lot of seven course music.
The good part is that you can retune the eight course and play most ten course music on it. If there is any one size that fits all in the Lute world it would be the eight course Lute. Unlike many on this list I cannot afford to purchase a new instrument every time I want to move up in period music. Lutes are not the most economical instruments in the world. All are hand made unless they come from Pakistan, and that's another story, you can't buy a Fender, or Gibson, or Gretch Lute. You cannot go to your local music store and pick one of many Lutes they have on display. Most of the time you have to contract with a reliable maker to have one made for you, and wait a year or two for it to be made. You may be fortunate enough to stumble across someone who is looking to sell an instrument. Then of course there is the issue of strings. You could drive yourself crazy trying to figure all of that mess out, opinions are as varied and passionate as the number of different products you could choose from. Suffice it to say Lute strings are not cheap either. But once you have the instrument of your choice it will change your life. Vance Wood. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josh Winters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 3:54 PM Subject: [LUTE] Hello! A couple questions. > Hello everyone, > > > > I'm new to this mailing list, having only been here for about a week. > > > > I do not play the lute, but I have always enjoyed the sound of lute > music, and over time I've become interested in learning to play. > However, during my research I have found too many conflicting answers to > my questions. I hope nobody minds me asking them here. > > > > To the best of my knowledge, the music I enjoy the most is from England, > approximately mid 1500s, maybe even most of that century. If I wanted to > start by learning the music of that period, which lute would you > recommend? I know that different eras would require different setups, so > I want to make sure I don't buy the wrong thing and get stuck playing > other music (although, I'd probably still enjoy it). > > > > Also, would you recommend a different mailing list? > > > > Thank you very much for your help, and I apologize if I was a bother, > > > > Josh > > > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.1/778 - Release Date: 4/27/2007 > 1:39 PM > >
