Martin
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Lutes?
Aug 17, 2016 16:00:55 GMT
Post by Martin on Aug 17, 2016 16:00:55 GMT
Anyone have one or know much about them? I saw one on Gumtree and was interested, but it appears it's left-handed (I think). Realised just how little I know about them...   |
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Aug 17, 2016 21:02:31 GMT
I think colins is your man. I have a cd of his lute playing and it's just about the most relaxing thing I listen to... beautiful stuff. I think I remember him telling me that, if they go out of tune, it's less stressful just to buy a new one ...or something... |
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Post by vikingblues on Aug 17, 2016 22:38:32 GMT
Help - all those strings!  Trying to pluck the right strings, learning a whole new plucking hand technique, and having the fretting hand stretching all over the place ... ouch, ouch, ouch. The time it takes to tune up too!  But having said that ....... don't they sound good.  Mark |
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colins
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Post by colins on Aug 18, 2016 9:12:44 GMT
Yes left handed, as evidenced by the over body frets. This one is only a four course, looks like a fairly basic kit constructed one, and wouldn't be capable of playing the normal lute repertoire. Being a four course it would only have seven strings so would be easy to keep in tune, the lutes I played and made had either eight or ten courses, so fifteen or nineteen strings. When I played with natural gut strings then they were a pig to maintain, every time a cloud went over the sun it seemed to go out of tune, but Nylgut became my saviour!    Colin |
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Martin
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Lutes?
Aug 18, 2016 14:38:50 GMT
Post by Martin on Aug 18, 2016 14:38:50 GMT
I thought so, and thanks for the info, Colin! The fella was only after £75, so I thought it would be worth a punt, but if it's the wrong way round, there's no point no matter how cheap it is. Lovely looking things, though  |
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Lutes?
Jan 20, 2017 9:25:03 GMT
Post by robmackillop on Jan 20, 2017 9:25:03 GMT
It's a piece of cr@p. Avoid.
It's funny, Colin, but you and I have completely different views on gut and nylgut. I much prefer gut, find it very stable, and can last for years. When I've had to pair a gut string with a nylgut string, it's the nylgut that usually needs tuning. We must live in different humidities. I also use gut trebles on a classical guitar. I buy my gut from Bow Brand, a harp-string manufacturer in England. They sell it in twelve-foot lengths, enough for four strings, and works out at almost as cheap as nylon strings.
Only the first string has broken on me. The current first string has lasted six months, maybe more, on my Simon Ambridge classical, and the other two have been on for a year.
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ocarolan
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Lutes?
Jan 20, 2017 11:37:22 GMT
Post by ocarolan on Jan 20, 2017 11:37:22 GMT
Martin, I think you're spending too much time on Gumtree lately....  Keith 
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Jan 20, 2017 11:44:51 GMT
Not arguing with you, Keith, although this thread's 5 months old |
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Riverman
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Post by Riverman on Jan 20, 2017 11:46:57 GMT
Not arguing with you, Keith, although this thread's 5 months old You mean you've been on Gumtree continuously for the last five months?  |
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Jan 20, 2017 11:50:29 GMT
Not arguing with you, Keith, although this thread's 5 months old You mean you've been on Gumtree continuously for the last five months? Yes  |
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 20, 2017 12:07:17 GMT
Told you so! K |
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Jan 23, 2017 17:45:58 GMT
Martin , I think you're spending too much time on Gumtree lately.... Keith I just looked on our local Gumtree after viewing this thread and saw an ad for "Beautiful cocker spaniel puppies. All have been warmed and fled." Presumably the idea is that once you've bought one you have to go and find it using its heat signature. |
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Lutes?
Mar 5, 2017 21:31:31 GMT
Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2017 21:31:31 GMT
What are lutes tuned to? Are there certain tunings.....or do you tune them to whatever you like?
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Post by robmackillop on Mar 5, 2017 22:17:35 GMT
As all the music is in tab, it would not be so useful to tune them to anything you like. Do you mean pitch?
Anyway, here's an overview:
Renaissance lutes: treble to bass: g d a f c g - and then some bass notes which are not fingered by the left hand: f e d c - depending on how many courses (double strings) your lute has.
Baroque lutes: f d a f d a and then g f e d c b a (depending on how many courses your lute has. Note that the first six strings are tuned to a Dm chord.
In between the Renaissance and Baroque there was in France a period of transitional tunings, as players experimented with new sonoroties. From c.1600 to 1640, there were over thirty tunings in use!
BUT - the above note names are only notional, meaning that they vary depending on the string length. So, the Renaissance lute could have been as high as a b or as low as d, and all the other courses tuned from there. We only call the first string g for convenience, and transcriptions usually assign the first string to g.
To sum up: there was no fixed pitch. Lutes were built in a variety of sizes and string lengths, with pitches just as varied. I hope that helped?
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Jo whoever he is.
