&g= t; In its widest sense, the theorbo simply means a lute based on either a> bass lute or a renaissance lute with an extended neck. However, ev= en > as I write this, I know that there are those who will of cours= e > disagree. I wonder who would disagree, as this simpl= y is the widest possible definition. Theorbo =3D lute with extended neck. > were around twelve types of theorbo historically, many of th= ose have Twelve types of use of the name, you meant to say, I ta= ke it? > One point that you make concerning the tuning: I don= 't believe that it > is possible to determine the tuning of an orig= inal instrument--for one > thing, there were many tunings and many = pitches. Hm... what about a Tieffenbrucker 7c (IIRC) with 44cm v= ibrating string length? 6c Hieber 58 cm? 14c Sellas 65cm (fretboard)? You c= an come close to plausible guesses for relative tunings, at least. > Lastly, I must addd that even though the modern references are in> agreement about the erzlaute, I'm sorry? &g= t; Etymology fo Lute as Arabic for "wood" but this is also incorrect as > the early writers consulted modern Arabic dictionaries instead of > medieval ones. What's wrong with that? 'oud means wood, = even in Qur'anic Arabic. The actual question was whether wood referred to t= he building material of the Oud or to the material of the mizrab (plectrum)= . Mathias
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