Early Guitars and Vihuela

A network for historic guitars and vihuelas

 I am thinking about making a Gittern and was wondering if anyone had information about the gauge of the strings needed for this instrument, and also information about the tuning notes.

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Quite right Peter - a slip of my finger (or brain.....).  And I do know L. speaks of wire strung and describes a cittern shaped instrument - but I still have a nagging worry that the small gut strung guitar/gittern may have been played in England before the advent of the larger 5 course insatrument......   Perhaps wishful thinking.  But it was only a few decades earlier when we do know it was around....

I'll ask Donald for his view next week.

Martyn (H)

Martyn, yes I do agree that the 4 course guitar was around, around 1600.  I've just posted a photograph which may suggest that the larger guitar was also.  I've been meaning to write this up for ages.  Other English representations of the little guitar include the Eglantine table at Hardwick (connection with the Kytson family), the James 1 triumphal arches 1604 (shown in Ward op cit above), the Bishop's Bible portrait of Robert Dudley, and the music in the Osborn, formerly Braye, commonplace book.

Dear Martyn Pane,

Ward's extended paper (comprising 214 pages - the whole of LSJ XXI!)  gives much of the information you seek about Playford's 1652 publication.  You can obtain a copy from the Lute Society.

 

Martyn (Hodgson)

Dear Martyn Pane,

To whom is the you addressed in yr message above?  Wouldn't it be easier anyway simply to paste yr 'original reply' to this site......

 

Martyn Hodgson

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