Hi,

I'm a trained classical pianist and have taught myself classical guitar for 15 ish years. Recently I've been listening to a lot of Bach, baroque and renaissance lute music. Most of my guitar repertoire is 20th century spanish/south american stuff (Tarrega, Piazzolla, Antonio Lauro, Enrique Granados) but have been dabbling in Bach, Mertz, Sor, etc. I am much more familiar with composers who composed for piano so I often play guitar arrangements of famous pieces composed for piano. I'm trying to broaden my composer knowledge.

I've been interested in the lute, since I really love the expanded range compared to a guitar. I like how the top notes can be bright while having deep base notes. I have some questions though:

- How easy is it to teach yourself? Teaching myself guitar was relatively easy because there are so many free resources. I taught myself banjo and it was a lot harder since there were fewer resources. Are lute players primarily self taught or do you need a teacher?

- Is there a lot of available free sheet music? Are there tab versions available? I read sheet music for piano but I don't know where an F sharp, etc. is on a fret board. This is a bit of a limiting factor now though since older/less popular classical pieces are often not available in tab and this slows me down to convert to tab.

- What type of lute should I get? I like the sound of the baroque lutes but they are typically very expensive and I'm not sure if I want to commit that much. I was thinking of an 8 course renaissance lute. I am also only 1.6m tall (5'2) so a larger lute like a theorbo would probably be overwhelming.

Alternatively, I could keep playing older baroque or renaissance music arranged for classical guitar. I could invest in a nicer classical guitar, but I feel like there's diminishing returns there.

While copying Terry’s collection into Fronimo, I stumbled upon this arrangement of "Ombra mai fu" for baroque lute—created by the late Markus Lutz—and decided to copy it as well; it is a beautiful piece that sounds lovely on the baroque lute.

With the exception of a single note—which can very easily be transposed—this arrangement can be played on an eleven-course baroque lute.

Years ago I promised the arranger to encode his arrangements (he calls them Transfusions) for 11 course baroque lute in Fronimo.
Here is a first one which is fun to play

Hello!

I picked this Lute up for cheap online and now I am a bit confused about the state of it. I have never played lute before so I am very much a beginner here. It seems that the frets have moved around on the board, is that something that I can fix myself or is this a job that is beyond an amateur? Also, why are there 16 tuning pegs but only 15 holes in the bridge? And some of the strings seem to be attached outside of the box, is that normal? Should I replace all of them?

That was a lot of questions, any answers are helpful.

Thank you in advance!

In my opinion, Gilbert Isbin has done a fantastic job arranging the famous "White Christmas" for the baroque lute. He employs a modern musical language, and suddenly, this well-known piece no longer sounds kitschy or boring; instead, it feels both familiar and—in a way—a bit quirky, even jazzy. I really like it, but I had some trouble with the notation as provided by Gilbert (https://www-static.gilbertisbin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/WHITE-CHRISTMAS-BAROQUE-LUTE-WM.pdf).
For this reason, I have transcribed it, and with his permission, I am making it available here.

From the Italian manuscript of 1630, I-Fn 45 here is an anonymous Passacaglia that fits the 10 course lute very nicely. Found in the Lute Society's Lutezine double issue (157/158) Spring/Summer 2026. Thanks to John Robinson for editing these pieces.
Haven't played my 10 course in a while and my RH could use some work, but I can't resist a good passacaglia!

I am not a musician, I can BS my way through a nice sounding noise but pretty much nothing else - I am looking at local options for potentially learning the lute but am not sure of a couple things:
1. If I were to learn the guitar (acoustic) would the learned skill transfer over at all? Or would it set me back in actually learning the lute itself
2. Is it better to learn in person or through videos (typically)

I am playing a 13 course lute. My thoughts are wandering around about a more "simple" instrument with 13 course d minor tuning. Compact and straightforward, maybe even modern. I do find those swan neck lutes somewhat cumbersome and I do prefer the smaller ones with added "Bassreiter" for the lowest two courses. Of course those derived from original 10 course lutes. I think modern strings do not need the long scale length for the basses.

So: What about a 13 course lute with equal scale length for all strings and simple peg box construction? Do those exist?

Many years ago, around the Christmas season, my duo partner—who played the baroque flute—and I would travel to hospitals, nursing homes, and any other places where people wanted to hear us, performing music for those who find this time of year particularly challenging.

At the time, I didn’t have a continuo instrument, and there was no existing Christmas music for the baroque lute. Consequently, I arranged several pieces specifically for our duo. Later, I performed these same arrangements with other melody instruments (such as the recorder), and they work just as well in those combinations.

I hope you find them useful.

Busco vihuela en Sol de luthier conocido como Carlos González o Francisco Hervás.

En España.

Love this new recording. He was on BBC Radio 3 the other night

hi I'm trying to learn lutherie and how to build baroque instruments i have decided i wanted to start with a theorbo specifically a 14 course 3 rosette large bowl design which i believe is Italian. if anybody has any resources on design ,shape or historical measurements it would be greatly appreciated my goal is to spend a few months on this project and try and eventually have one of my professional lute friends take a shot at it and give me feedback. again if anybody has a historical measurements id love to taker a look at them to see if I'm doing it right also if there are any books for a kind of step by step approach that would be great as well . thank you for your time and consideration.

Another song by the blind 14th century Italian composer and organist Francesco Landini. Oymè El Core Non Più Ardore, found in the F-Pnm Italien 568 manuscript, is a lovely 2 part song which fits well on the lute

A little German Renaissance repertoire... A piece by Hans Neusidler that begins gently in duple meter, before moving into a much livelier variation in triple meter.

For all the criticism regarding his Dowland recording (I will never get over the fact that he compared himself to Dowland and classified both as "singer-songwriters"), I must acknowledge that—in addition to his accessible pop music—I appreciate his engagement with this demanding material. It serves as an example of what can be achieved with an appropriate budget, and demonstrates that the lute is indeed well-suited to rock and pop.

Happy 75th Birthday, Sting!

I have made an edition of mine available online for Baroque lute players.

It features high-quality music by a truly capable composer; the manuscript is now housed in Kraków (it was formerly in Berlin).

When I created the edition, there was no further information available about the manuscript. It would be wonderful if anyone had more details and could share them.

In any case, enjoy the music!

Hi I'm in socal looking to rent a theorbo don't know where to go as I need it for the program I'm in if anybody can assist me or help in anyway it would be greatly appreciated!

Traditional lyrics likely from 15th century Spain, melody likely from 19th century Ottoman empire. One of the most popular songs of the genre.

What tools would be best and most convenient for use as continuo?

If you wish to avoid dragging thirteen hardcases to every rehearsal, what instruments do you need to make the gig work?

I'm looking to play lute as a continuo instrument only - I enjoy both kinds of music (Baroque and 16th century), and I play traverso flute and actual flute ("recorder"), and when playing with friends, we often have a place for continuo support.

Dragging around a harpsichord sounds like a lot of hassle, and I'm hesitant to take up the cello as it's completely unrelated to my existing skills, however, I'm very happily playing an 8-stringed guitar tuned D2,F2,G2,C3,F3,A3,D4,G4, at 415, and teaching myself to read continuo notation. In the past, when I've tried learning re-entrant tuning guitar-related instruments, my brain has not liked it.

I'm guessing that what a continuo lutenist would most want is a portable instrument (a "lute"), perhaps with not too many courses, and something with more bass and projection if needed - a theorbo or archlute.

My guess is that a great big eye-poker is not a great way to start, and it would also be a pretty significant investment, what I think of as the sort of money needed to buy a car - but I should brace myself for spending that money in a few years.

As for a "lute" lute, am I right in thinking that just getting an EMS lute-shaped object is not the wisest long-term solution?

I'm in Melbourne, Australia, and I see that there are some Australian luthiers that make absolutely gorgeous instruments at buying-a-car money. If I must, I must, but what would you recommend, lutenists of Reddit?

Did anyone read this newer Biography? Would you recommend it?