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1. Bobby, D. (2004). Lute. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lute 2. Chris, G. (2001). The Lute Society: About the Lute. The Lute Society. https://www.lutesociety.org/pages/about-the-lute
3. Jonathan, S. (2010). The Lute. The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lute/hd_lute.htm
4. Wayne, C. (2002). A basic introduction to Renaissance Lute Tablature for Beginners. https://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute/tab-intro.html

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The lute saw the end of its golden age with the rise of the orchestra, opera and the commercial concert hall. Like the guitar, without mics and sound systems it simply cannot compete with other loud instruments, especially in large halls. Slowly being replaced by pianos which were louder, easier, and more versatile, the lute soon becomes a thing of the past. The rise of the easier-to-play five-course 'baroque' guitar doesn't help either.

It wasn't until the 1970s, that an early music revival movement appeared. Early music pioneers in England and Germany Arnold started to make and play lutes, and soon standards of both making and playing the lute are comparably high, though they are still not considered the norm depending on where you live. (The Lute Society : About the Lute, 2001)

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Being the most popular instrument during the Renaissance period, the lute is mostly used in games of medieval settings. Not only is it because of its historic value, but also because of its tone - beautiful, bittersweet, sadness, dark. Sure, it can also be used in happy dance music, but most of the time, it is used in scenes where the characters are going through tough times, or during calms before the storms.

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In this game, the lute is an item where players can get ahold of and play songs on. Though it serves no purpose to the story, the nature of the lute adds to the heavy atmospheric components of the game, of the medieval dark age.

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In my opinion, the Renaissance Lute makes very beautiful, ethereal music, much like the harp and many other amazing instruments.
When I think of the lute, I picture traveling bards in medieval times, wandering from place to place, telling their stories through music, I think it is very romantic. Such a shame for an extraordinary instrument like this to be forgotten by many. I am quite interested to learn it (if I can find and afford one) and one day use it in my compositions.

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This is a game heavily focused on story telling. Inside a cruel world filled with monsters and evils, the protagonist, Geralt (the white haired man) is a mercenary who has survived many hardships and horrids. Though there was nothing significant happening during this scene, it is warming for Geralt and the players to hear such beautiful music after so many hours of blood and gore. This is also a prime example of why the lute makes such an amazing accompaniment, it complements the singer's voice perfectly.

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The Witcher 3 Soundtrack OST - Priscilla's Song

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Lutes are complicated instruments when it comes to tunings due to the shapes and sizes they come in and also because there were no tuners back in the day. The tuning of the instrument is in perfect fourths (with the exception of the third and fourth course being a major third apart) with the chanterelle being G in most cases. The courses on the lute are tuned in unisons for high and intermediate pitches, but for lower pitches one of the two strings is tuned an octave higher. (Lute, 2004)

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Though scarce, but not unheard of, the lute's magnificent tone makes for a wonderful instrument in ensembles as well, much like many other instruments.

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Quartetto di Liuti da Milano - Ricercari danze madrigali canzoni del Cinquecento - parte 3

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Also referred to as the Italian tablature, this tab uses numbers to represent the frets on the fretboard (0 means open string, 1 means first fret, 2 means second, and so on）. In this style, the lowest line represents the highest pitched string. For example, 3 on the lowest line means third fret on the highest pitched string, while 0 on the highest line means open string on the lowest pitched string (A basic introduction to Renaissance lute tablature for beginners, 2002). This style of tab is quite identical to the modern day guitar's tablature, except that the strings are upside down (guitar's lowest line also means lowest pitched string).

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Also known as the French tablature, this style of tabs uses English letters to represent which notes to play. A means open string, B means first fret, C, second, and the list goes on. What's interesting is that the string pitches are read the same way as a modern guitar's tab, which is the upside down of the Italian's tablature.  (A basic introduction to Renaissance lute tablature for beginners, 2002)

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The lute's ability to play polyphony (multiple notes at the same time), made it the ideal solo instrument of its time.

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As the name suggests, the Renaissance Lute is one of the most influential instruments during the Renaissance Period (1400-1600CE). The lute's strings are arranged in pairs(also called courses) of two strings each, though the highest pitched string usually consists of only one string, called the chanterelle. One interesting thing about the lute is that it started out as an instrument with 4 courses(7 strings), but as time progresses, people started adding more and more courses to the instrument, eventually adding up to 10 courses or more. (Lute, 2004)

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While there is no specific date of the Renaissance Lute's birth, its connection to the Arabian Oud is clear as day due to the their appearances and sound. The Renaissance Lute's made its first appearance during 1283, from an illustration of a musician playing the lute during a chess game. The illustration can be found inLibro de Juegos (Book of Games) commissioned by Alfonso X. ( The Lute, 2010)

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Soundboard

The soundboard is a teardrop-shaped thin flat plate of resonant wood. It has a single (sometimes triple) decorated sound hole under the strings called the rose. The sound hole is not open, but rather covered with a grille in the form of an intertwining vine or a decorative knot, carved directly out of the wood of the soundboard.

Back

The back of the lute is assembled from thin strips of hardwood called ribs, joined (with glue) edge to edge to form a deep rounded body for the instrument. There are braces inside on the soundboard to give it strength.

Neck

The lute's neck is made of light wood, with a veneer of hardwood (usually ebony) to provide durability for the fretboard. Unlike most modern stringed instruments, the lute's fretboard is mounted flush with the top. The tuning pegs are simple pegs of hardwood, somewhat tapered, that are held in place by friction in holes drilled through the pegbox.

Bridge

The bridge, sometimes made of a fruitwood, is attached to the soundboard typically between a fifth and a seventh of the belly length. It does not have a separate saddle but has holes bored into it to which the strings attach directly. The bridge is made so that it tapers in height and length, with the small end holding the trebles and the higher and wider end carrying the basses. Bridges are often colored black with carbon black in a binder, often shellac and often have inscribed decoration.

Frets

The frets are often made of loops of animal gut tied around the neck. They fray with use, and must be replaced from time to time. A few additional partial frets of wood are usually glued to the body of the instrument, to allow stopping the highest-pitched courses up to a full octave higher than the open string, though these are considered anachronistic by some. Many luthiers prefer to use gut instead of nylon strings, as it conforms more readily to the sharp angle at the edge of the fingerboard.

Strings

Similar to the frets, Lute strings are traditionally made of animal gut, usually from the small intestine of sheep. Modern manufacturers make both gut and nylon strings, and both are in common use. Gut strings are more authentic for playing period pieces, though unfortunately it is also more susceptible to irregularity and pitch instability due to changes in humidity. Nylon strings offer greater tuning stability, but the sound quality is different from the more authentic gut strings. (Lute, 2004)

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1. Abdullah, E. (2017, November 13).

The Lute in Italian Renaissance / İtalyan Rönans Dönem Müziği CD-1. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YiAmTYz9SE

2. Brandon, A. (2020, December 18). Introducing: The Renaissance Lute. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZB3_dZCy74
3. David, L. (2012, September 20). Meet the Lute Legends Ensemble. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IymJEZt7BLA
4. Edoardo, L. (2012, November 19).

Quartetto di Liuti da Milano - Ricercari danze madrigali canzoni del Cinquecento - parte 3. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9HnYN-K6M

5. KingDongo. (2017, November 5).

Every lute song in Skyrim | [Skyrim]. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VokS-hG_kc

6. LUTEVOICE. (2007, August 11).

"Flow my tears" by John Dowland | Valeria Mignaco, soprano | Alfonso Marin, lute. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkRrzAo9Wl4

7. me:mo. (2017, November 29). Playing the Lute in the 21st Century. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msz-UqVUmeI&t=11s
8. Shirrako. (2015, May 24). The Witcher 3 Soundtrack OST - Priscilla's Song . [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bSk-8C76dc&t=1s
9. The Met. (2015, October 16). "Lachrimae" by John Dowland. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/fZYzuIGDYGs

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An interesting combination of different lutes, Oud+Lute+Pipa

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In the earlier days, the Renaissance Lutes were played by lutenists using quills as plectrums (similar to the concept of a guitar pick). However, as time progresses to around the late 1500s, lutenists begin to use their fingertips instead of plectrums to play the instrument. This technique resulted in the lute becoming an ideal solo instrument as lutenists can now play multiple parts and voicings (also known as polyphony) on the instrument instead of plucking one string at a time. Other than ditching the plectrums, lutenists also changed their hands' positions from a horizontal position (also called thumb under) to a slightly tilted position called thumb out.

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One thing these two tabs have in common, are the way the note durations are written. Though there exist many versions, most of the time they look like modern musical notes without the circles, with one more line meaning halves are played in the same time, just like a quaver equals 2 semiquavers in time.  (A basic introduction to Renaissance lute tablature for beginners, 2002)

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The lute was also frequently paired with vocals(either with multiple voices or one) due to its ability to make complex harmonies. Personally, I think this is the best sounding style.

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LUTEVOICE Valeria Mignaco & Alfonso Marin

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"Flow my tears" by John Dowland | Valeria  Mignaco, soprano | Alfonso Marin, lute

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Valeria Mignaco, soprano | Alfonso Marin, lute Recorded live at Sint-Pieterskerk / Leuven / Belgium www.lutevoice.com Another more recent version of this song: http://youtu.be/blk0cgnNUKE

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A peak into how lutenists, both past and present, earn a living.

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The Lute in Italian Renaissance / İtalyan Rönans Dönem Müziği CD-1