Musical instruments from the western world of the Baroque, Renaissance, Medieval and earlier periods.
Submit sites about musical instruments from the western world of the Baroque, Renaissance, Medieval and earlier periods. Please submit sites about non-western instruments to the appropriate sub-category of Styles: Regional and Ethnic.
The Vihuela (16th century Spain) - quite large, with 12 strings in 6 courses.
The Renaissance guitar (16th century France and Italy) - generally plain looking, about the size of the modern ukelele, with 7 strings in 4 courses (the highest string was a single).
The Baroque guitar (17th and 18th centuries) - still much smaller than the modern classical instrument, usually very ornate, with 9 strings in five courses (the highest string being a single).
All were easily recognisable as guitars, with the typical waisted body; some were flat-backed, others had vaulted backs. Their repertoire was written in various forms of tablature, and was quite different from the contemporary guitar repertoire, being much closer to lute music. "Lutes which looked like guitars, or guitars which played lute music?"
The pipe and tabor make possible a one-man-band with both melody and percussion being produced by a single performer. This combination of instruments dates back to at least the 16th century and remains popular for Morris dancing.
Thank you for submitting sites about pipe and tabor instruments. Please submit sites about non-western instruments to the appropriate World Music category.