Relatives of the Lute
Baroque Guitar
    The Baroque guitar has five courses; the first is single and the other four double. The instrument utilizes a re-entrant tuning scheme, with the bottom course an octave higher than might be expected. Based on publications and manuscripts of the time, some historical players clearly preferred octave stringing on the lower one or two courses, while others just as clearly preferred unison for all the double courses. The choice of tuning scheme did not depend strictly on geography or chronology, and in fact in a few published collections the optimum tuning pattern may vary from one page to the next.

    During the Baroque period, the guitar was cultivated by players and composers within the courts of princes and kings. The construction became much more ornate than it had been earlier. Guitars were built by instrument makers as skilled and well-known as Antonio Stradivari.

    The Baroque guitar may well have been used as it frequently is today, to provide a simple strummed accompaniment for a singer or small group. However, there were also many significant music collections published during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for guitar containing contrapuntal compositions, as well as some where strumming alternates with contrapuntal motion.

Rear view of the instrument. Click on either picture to view a larger version.

Bibliography:

  • Tyler, James, The Guitar and Its Music — from the Renaissance to the Classical Era .  Oxford University Press, London (1992)
  • Tyler, James, The Early Guitar:  A History and Handbook.  Oxford University Press, London (1980)

—— • ——
Last updated 1 August AD 2005 – DFH