Hi Paul, No need to be embarrassed. We all started not playing the lute remember! Never be afraid to ask questions here, you'll find everyone here more than happy to answer your questions, no matter whatever they are.
You're correct in your assumption, the renaissance lute comes in different pitches. The tuning intervals remain the same, the whole instrument is at a different pitch. When we refer to a lute in a certain pitch, say G, we're referring to the first course. G would be alto, F and E are considered tenor lutes, all the way down to huge bass lutes of D and C, then up A, B, and C treble and descant lutes. So, when we refer to a tenor lute in F, the whole instrument is tuned a tone lower than an alto lute in G. There were many duet and trio pieces written for lutes tuned in different pitches. Also, you are completely correct that a lute tuned in G at 392 would be the same as a lute tuned to F at 440, within one or two cents. So in a nutshell you were on the right track, if you tune your lute to F you start the progression of the intervals from there. Personally, if it were me, I would definitely pitch your at F with a scale of 65cm. I actually prefer the sound of a tenor lute in F for solo work, the larger size of the instrument gives a richer sound. Some prefer the bright sound of a lute in A for solo work (A lute in A would have a scale of about 57cm), it's all down to preferences really. So your lute being 65cm, your choices are, in modern 440 pitch, F, F#, or G, but as mentioned before, going for G will need thin strings at high tension. Hope that is of some help to you and feel free to ask away if you have any other questions! James On Jan 3, 2013 1:58 AM, "Paul Daverman" <[1][email protected]> wrote: Hi James, Okay....I'm very embarrassed here and am getting very confused. I don't play the lute (yet) and I'm feeling like I'm missing something major here! (For the record, I play the mandolin some.) What do you actually mean by "pitch of F" or "pitch of G"? Are lutes not chromatic? Is that what I've been missing all this time? Are they diatonic like my penny-whistle in D, etc? Or when you say "pitch of F" or "in G" is it merely meant that the chanderelle (highest note) is "F" or "G" and the starting place for the progression of courses? If the latter, I should think that "in G" in A392 would be identical to "F" in A440 since 392 hz is a whole step away from 440hz. Is that true? What would the "F" (at A440) look like? Just one whole note down on each course from the "G" tuning I would think? Again, my apologies for my great lack of understanding. And thank-you for your patience with me. (I didn't reply to the whole forum here because, frankly, I'm feeling a bit stupid and didn't really need that to be what people found if they googled my name.) Thanks so much! Paul From: James Jackson [mailto:[2][email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 2:49 PM To: Paul Daverman Cc: [3][email protected] Subject: Re: [LUTE-BUILDER] Pitch center on a 10 cs. lute Hi Paul, I'll be honest, a scale of 65cm would be much more suited for a pitch of F at AD0 - I think you'll find with a lute that is a little larger, like this one, will sound so much better at that pitch. The whole instrument will resonate better if you string it at the pitch it was designed for, as I highly doubt the original instrument was ever tuned to the equivalent of G at AD0, more likely the instrument was at F at modern pitch. James On 1 January 2013 20:02, Paul Daverman <[4][email protected]> wrote: I am building a 10 cs. lute per Robert Lundberg's plans (10-cs Renaissance Lute, Dieffopruchar 1612). I am to the point where I have begun looking at strings so that I have an idea of diameters, etc. As this is my first lute build, I am looking at Nylgut and am looking to tune to AD0. One of the suppliers to which I have inquired has said that in A440 tuning, they have no strings at 65cm length that can take the tension for the chanderelle (and that no gut could either.) He said that the instrument was probably meant for A92 and while he could supply strings in either tuning, I'd have to look elsewhere for a string for the chanderelle if I chose A440. I am wondering if any of you can talk to this topic. Would I be over stressing the lute if I tune to the modern tuning of A440? Would A392 have been the intended tuning or maybe A415? What other repercussions of tuning one way vs. another should I know about? My music theory is a bit poor - is the difference between going from A440 tuning to A392 really any different that transposing down a (??) major second? Any word to help get all this straight in my mind would be appreciated. While I understand that "pitch" is all relative, I'm having a difficult time getting my arms around the practical understanding of what I should do for stringing. Thanks. Paul -- To get on or off this list see list information at [5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:[email protected] 2. mailto:[email protected] 3. mailto:[email protected] 4. mailto:[email protected] 5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
