Lute

The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. It evolved from an instrument originally developed in the Middle East, which was also the ancestor of the superficially similar oud. The words 'lute' and 'oud' are both derived from Arabic al‘ud, "the wood". The player of a lute is called a lutenist, and a maker of lutes (or guitars) is called a luthier.

History and evolution of the lute

The lute first appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages, transferred across the Muslim-Christian cultural divide in Spain, though it ceased to be played there by Christian musicians after about 1500. 16th-century Christian lutenists on the Iberian Peninsula instead adopted the vihuela. Saracens brought the lute to Sicily well before 1140, when it is depicted in ceiling paintings in the royal Cappella Palatina in Palermo. By the 14th century it was widespread throughout Italy and had made significant inroads into the German-speaking lands.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - Spain - Vihuela - Saracens - Sicily

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Medieval lutes were 4- or 5-course instuments, plucked using a quill for a plectrum. There were several sizes, and by the end of the Renaissance, seven different sizes (up to the great octave bass) are documented. Song accompaniment was probably the lute's primary function in the Middle Ages, as it had been in Arab culture.

Related Topics:
Course - Plectrum

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In the last few decades of the 15th century, in order to play Renaissance polyphony on a single instrument, lutenists gradually abandoned the quill in favor of plucking the instrument with the soft pads of the fingers and thumb (not with the nails, as is the modern practice for classical guitar). The number of courses grew to six and beyond. The lute was the premier solo instrument of the 16th century, and continued to be used to accompany one or more singers, often in a popular form of art music called the lute song.

Related Topics:
Renaissance polyphony - Classical guitar - Lute song

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By the end of the Renaissance the number of courses had grown to ten, and during the Baroque era the number continued to grow until it reached 14. These instruments, with up to 28 strings, required innovations in the structure of the lute. At the end of the lute's evolution the archlute and similar theorbo had a long jib attached to the main tuning head in order to provide a greater resonating length for the bass strings, and since human fingers are not long enough to stop strings across a neck wide enough to hold 14 courses, the bass strings no longer even ran above the fretboard.

Related Topics:
Archlute - Theorbo

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Over the course of the Baroque era the lute was increasingly relegated to the role of the continuo, and was eventually superseded in that role by keyboard instruments, after which it fell out of use. (The evolution of the lute-harpsichord and harpsichord, which pluck their strings rather than hammering them like a piano, can be seen as technological innovations to extend the 14-course lute beyond its human limitations.) Works for lute continued to be produced at least as late as Joseph Haydn, but the instrument completely disappeared from common use around that time.

Related Topics:
Continuo - Lute-harpsichord and harpsichord - Piano - Joseph Haydn

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The Spanish vihuela is apparently related to the lute, though it has a body shaped like a miniature guitar, and never grew beyond six courses. The relation between the lute and guitar, if any, is unknown.

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An instrument of Ancient Chinese origin, the pipa, is similar to the lute, and is sometimes called the Chinese lute. Unlike the lute, it still enjoys moderate popularity in China.

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