Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
My friend, Bill Samson, made this lute back in 1984, but hasn't played it for a long time. I bought it from him on Thursday, then strung it largely in (sheep) gut strings. On the video I play a French piece of around 1650, found in a manuscript in Berlin. It's not a faultless performance (they never are) but worth hearing if you have an interest in these things.
You will see it has 11 courses of strings - a course could be single (as in the first two treble courses) strings on the right side of the first picture, or double. The doubles are either unison or octave (fat string with a thin neighbour). You hit the doubles as if they are one note, and the thin octave neighbour gives definition to the low note. Hope that makes sense, but it doesn't have to. Hope you enjoy hearing this music from mid 17th-century.
You will see it has 11 courses of strings - a course could be single (as in the first two treble courses) strings on the right side of the first picture, or double. The doubles are either unison or octave (fat string with a thin neighbour). You hit the doubles as if they are one note, and the thin octave neighbour gives definition to the low note. Hope that makes sense, but it doesn't have to. Hope you enjoy hearing this music from mid 17th-century.