On Jun 11, 2009, at 10:53 PM, morgan cornwall wrote: > Number of courses: > > Of the 6, 7, and 8 course lutes, it would seem that a 7 course lute > would be most practical. It would allow me to play the earlier > repertoire as well as most of the Dowland pieces. It doesn't > seem like > there is a whole lot to be gained from going to an 8 course > lute. Is > this reasonable? Are 6 and 7 course lutes tuned differently > (unison vs > octave course)?
That is very reasonable in my opinion, but for some reason 8 courses seems to have become some sort of standard amongst modern beginners, even though historically they were probably not as prevalent as 7 course lutes. Compared to 7 course repertoire there is very little 8 course repertoire and not much of that that you can't play on 7 course. You just have to be willing to retune from F to D. Some people think it is easier to have 8 courses because they can hit two notes open. Personally, I think it makes it 1/8th harder for the right hand by an 1/8th, but that is my opinion. About the octave tuning, that is a big subject. A very general rule of thumb is that earlier 6 course music probably used octaves up to the 4th course. Dowland recommends a unison on the 6th course, though I'm not sure if he was referring to a 7 course. It might have been about a 9 course. Someone else here will know. I wouldn't worry too much. You can change your octaves without much trouble if you need to specialize on a certain repertoire. > Scale length: > > I don't have large hands, and with a classical guitar the scale > length > makes a difference with some chords and stretches. Renaissance > lutes > seem to vary in scale length from 540mm to 670mm. Besides the > tuning > of the open strings, are the larger scale lengths harder to play > with > small hands? With guitars, often the intonation suffers with > shorter > scale lengths, is this true of lutes as well? Yes, of course, depending on what you choose to play. There is so much repertoire and much of it is tailored to certain kinds/sizes of lutes. If you go for a G lute of around 60 cm, you cannot go far wrong, IMHO. You cannot get much shorter than this and keep it in G, especially if you go for gut strings. Paul O'Dette does not have large hands, but it hasn't exactly cramped his style. :-) > Body Size/Ergonomics: > > When I look at pictures of lutes they look to be of a similar > shape, > but it's hard to tell if the body sizes are different. Does the > body > size vary? Does it vary with the scale length? Alto lutes do > appear > to have a smaller body, so small that it actually appears harder to > hold. Is there a body size that would be most comfortable to hold? > Does the body depth differ, and if so, is a shallower lute more > comfortable to hold? Lutes come in all sizes. Nominal G lutes are the most common. > Ergonomics: > > I think comfort/ergonmics are very important. Besides the body > shape > and size, and the scale length, are there any other factors > affecting > ergonomics? With some guitars, especially larger bodies with > a sharp > edge, I find them quite uncomfortable for my right arm and can only > play them for so long before my circulation is restricted. Is the > sharp edge of the lute top an issue? Some people find this so and wear a piece of sock or something where there arm meets the edge. Most pros have no problem, probably because they hold it more ergonomically. Jakob Lindberg advises to tilt the lute back somewhat. > Number of ribs: > > All of the student lutes I have looked at have either 9 or 11 ribs. > What effect does the number of ribs have, if any? Higher price. > Are there any other things I should be thinking about? It is > probably > clear that I only know enough to be dangerous. Also, even a > student > lute is a big investment for me and I hope to make as good a > choice as > possible. Any and all comments and advice is appreciated If possible, it would be good to buy locally. Then you can take it to the maker if something goes wrong, but I wouldn't let that be a deal breaker. If you are a guitarist, one has to ask if you are planning on playing with guitar technique or plan on learning lute technique. This makes a difference for the spacing of the courses at the bridge. Also, the spacing of the strings at the nut varies enormously. If possible, you should try a few lutes and find a spacing that is comfortable. You can redo the nut and make it narrower but you won't be able to make it wider later unless you give up the idea of playing on the 7th course, which I wouldn't do. Good luck, Ed Durbrow Saitama, Japan [email protected] http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/ -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
