This page is devoted to my Mel Bay publication: Introduction To The Lute for lute and guitar players:

[New: A new Repertoire Book has been released as a companion to this book. Details below – scroll down for details]

 

From the Introduction:

“This book is aimed at both lute beginners and guitarists who are interested in playing lute music, either on a lute or a guitar.

When I started learning to play the lute, almost thirty years ago, all the lute players I knew or had heard of, had first played classical guitar. Today it is not unknown for students to go directly to the lute as their first instrument. However there are still many lute players who come to the lute through the guitar. The difference now is that it is not just classical guitarists who have made the leap, acoustic and electric guitar players have also fallen under the magical spell of the lute. For some, the desire is to play lute music on the guitar – any guitar – while for others, nothing but a real lute will do. There is plenty in this book for both players.”

Contents:

Introduction
Practicalities – Tuning, Technique, Tablature
Notes on Repertoire and Composers
Exercises
Single-note Tunes:
La Cornetta/Anon.
La Traditora/Hessen
Zorzi/Anon.
El Saltarello/Anon.
Two-Part Counterpoint Pieces:
Wo soll ich mich hinkeren/Judenkunig
Fecit Potentiam/Fuenllana
Duet by Fuenllana
Repertoire Pieces:
A Daunce/Straloch
A Port/Straloch
A Toye (1)/Pickeringe
A Toye (2)/Pickeringe
Branle Gay XVII/Attaingnant
Draw neare me and lowe me
Fantasia del quarto tono/Milán
Fantasia del quarto tono/Narvaez
Fantasia N.41/Milano
Fantasia X/Mudarra
I Long for thy Virginitie/Straloch
I Never Knew I Loved Thee/Rowallan
Lachrimae Pavan/Dowland
Mrs. Winter’s Jump/Dowland
Orlando Sleepeth/Dowland
Pauana alla Veneciana/Dalza(?)
Preludium/Dowland
Recercare a Juli amours/Spinacino
Ricercare X/Spinacino
Rhona’s Tune/Anon
Romanesca: Guardame Las Vacas/Mudarra
Tarleton’s Riserrectione/Dowland
Tastar de corde/Dalza
The Buffins/Straloch
What if a Day/Pickeringe
Chords

Soundfiles for every track:

Promo Video:

On Acoustic Guitar:

 

 

On Classical Guitar:

 

On Lute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NEW!!

Two volumes have been released as a follow-up to the above book, one in lute tab, the other in guitar tab. 80 pages of great lute music:

Renaissance Lute Repertoire-Guitar Tablature Edition can be viewed as either a supplement to the popular Introduction to the Lute: for Lute and Guitar Players or as a standalone edition of 16th-century lute tablatures. Play from beautifully-typeset scores, music by John Dowland, Francesco da Milano, Vincenzo Galilei (father of the famous astronomer) and many others, including vihuela composers Narváez and Milán. Together, this collection provides a beautiful and extensive overview of music for the renaissance lute.

This edition is in French lute tablature. There is a separate edition in guitar tablature, Renaissance Lute Repertoire-Guitar Tablature Edition.

TUNING: To get Renaissance lute tuning on a guitar, all you need to do is tune the 3rd string, G, down one semitone to F♯. That’s it. Then just read the tab as normal.

 

Renaissance Lute Repertoire-Lute Tablature Edition can be viewed as either a supplement to the popular Introduction to the Lute: for Lute and Guitar Players or as a standalone edition of 16th-century lute tablatures reset in guitar tab. Play from beautifully-typeset scores, music by John Dowland, Francesco da Milano, Vicenzo Galilei (father of the famous astronomer), and many others, including vihuela composers, Narváez and Milán. Together, this collection provides in guitar tab a beautiful and extensive overview of music for the Renaissance lute.