A Tutor for the Renaissance Lute | Complete Lute Method for Beginners to Advanced Players | Historical Lute Instruction with Technique and Repertoire | Classical Lute Sheet Music Book

by Diana Poulton

The Definitive Method Book for Renaissance Lute Study. * A Tutor for the Renaissance Lute by Diana Poulton is one of the most trusted and comprehensive instruction manuals available for lute players. Suitable for complete beginners through to advanced students, this book offers a structured and historically informed approach to mastering the Renaissance lute. * * Progressive Lessons from Basic Technique to Complex Repertoire. * This 148-page volume covers every stage of lute playing, beginning with tuning, hand position, and simple exercises, and gradually progressing to more advanced topics including ornamentation, counterpoint, and interpretation of Renaissance tablature. It also includes a wide variety of period repertoire for performance and practice. * * An Essential Resource for Lutenists and Early Music Students. * Whether used for self-instruction or in academic settings, this method is a staple for anyone interested in historical performance. The clear explanations, illustrations, and musical examples make this book invaluable for both individual study and music teacher resource collections. * * Ideal for Gifting or Curriculum Use. * This tutor is an excellent gift for students of early music or anyone fascinated by historical stringed instruments. Its depth of content and clarity of instruction ensure it remains a go-to reference for years to come.

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Jacob Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diana Poulton's Tutor for the Renaissance Lute is probably the single greatest technical resource for that instrument, and I'd recommend it for everyone from pure beginners with absolutely no musical background to those already possessing a reasonably advanced degree of mastery on the instrument. There is very little rigorous pedagogical material extant for the lute until the Mary Burwell Lute Tutor of the early Baroque period, at which time stringing and tuning was so foreign to that of the renaissance that the text is effectively useless in that context. This modern tutor does an admirable job of bridging the information gap. Barring the future discovery of a detailed technical treatise from the late 16th or early 17th century in a private collection (and one may always dream), we will probably never have a more complete and accurate treatment of the technical considerations peculiar to the instrument. Even if such a treatise were discovered, its scope could not compete with that of Poulton's book. Even the Mary Burwell Lute Tutor, known for its relative attention to detail, is essentially a chronicle of hyper-localized tastes and trends which rarely makes mention of what was being done by lutenists in other locations.

The lessons are clear and well written, with easily obtainable goals. As one might expect of a technical manual, the musical examples are laid out in order of increasing difficulty. I suspect that Poulton took Robert Dowland's A Varietie of Lute Lessons as the model for the layout of her book. All of the major systems of intabulation in use during the renaissance are addressed in turn, including the only explanation of the (nightmarish) german intabulation system that has ever been clear enough that I was able to finally sightread a piece notated in this system. The musical examples are well chosen, and many are facsimiles. Too often the musical examples given in technical texts are useless for all but technique acquisition, yet every single one of Poulton's selections is worthy of a recital program.

It is also the only lute book I have seen that includes full range scales. It is absolutely worth the $35. I "finished" the book a few days ago, but one doesn't read and shelve a technique manual. I'll be revisiting this book daily for decades.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I was looking for.