Like all lutes, theorboes were pitched according to size so as to get the best sound from the lowest fingered plain gut strings (usually 6th course on theorboes) whilst remaining within the working stress of the highest course (usually 3rd). Accordingly your small theorbo (if existing then) of 80cm fingered string length would have been pitched considerably higher than 415 (around 470/480): the breaking stress on a high octave 2nd course would therefore be exceeded. You can't have it both ways: either the instrument is pitched so low that the basses are not strong enough or so high that the highest pitched string breaks. The problem is that overwound strings allow smaller instruments to be tuned at a lower pitch for their size whilst still producing a reasonably strong bass. Since smaller instruments are easier to play and closer to the lute, some choose to use such instruments: this, I presume, is for convenience rather than trying to reproduce something closer to what the 'Old Ones' would have expected and their auditors heard. As said, this was covered earlier and you may care to look in the archives. Also see Lynda Sayce's comments on theorbo sizes on her website.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: "Martyn Hodgson" wrote: [...] if we use a proper size instrument (ie not an implausible 'toy' theorbo), against the laws of physics. Let's assume a string lenght of 80 cm. It's not a toy, but a theorbo usable for solo music (i.e. the Mantuan 18 courses instrument). The 'breaking index' for gut is about 240 and I can calculate the highest frequency reachable for a gut string of a given lenght using this formula: highest frequency = 240 / lenght in meters that is highest frequency: 240 / 0.8 = 300 Hz. 300 Hz. is a little lower than a 'e' at 415. We also must consider that the tuning of the thorbo in G was not unusual: have a look in Praetorius, De Organographia, p. 27. Also Banchieri (L'organo suonarino, p. 43) give a G tuning with only the first string lowered. So the octave stringing of a 2nd course is all but against the laws of physics! Regarding the 'historical evidence', we mus suppose an alternative tuning, not only for Meli, but also for Pittoni. Sometimes 'historical evidence' means a stroke of luck: I can't immagine the situation for baroque guitar stringing without the discovery of the small paper by Stradivari about the inversion of the octave strings... Diego Cantalupi -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --------------------------------- Copy addresses and emails from any email account to Yahoo! Mail - quick, easy and free. Do it now... --
