Metal strings, maybe? As in a small bandora? I suppose it would look
like a tenor orpharion but I don't see any reason not to tune one like
a bandora.
Sean
On Oct 25, 2011, at 3:58 PM, Mathias Rösel wrote:
My guess is
that the "general pitch" at this period was around a tone lower than
modern, so
a "G lute" may have been around 67cm string length. I think one of
the
songs
uses a "bass" lute in (nominal) D, so this may have been quite a big
beast.
The strange tuning used for "The Leaves be Green" is a kind of conceit
(first
pointed out by Tony Rooley many years ago - starting with a nominal G
lute, the
only courses which have *not* been changed in tuning are A and G,
standing
for
"Anne Greene".
If nominal G lute means starting with the 1st course in G, then there
is no
A course with Danyel's tuning.
9c G-lute: G4 - D4 - A3 - F3 - C3 - G2 || F2 - Eb2 - C2
Danyel: G4 - D4 - Bb3 - F3 - Bb2 - Ab2 || F2 - Eb2 - Bb1
If your guess is right, that the "general pitch" at this period was
around a
tone lower than modern, that would cause problems with the lowest course
even on a big beast, or so I should guess. The fundamental would
simply be
too thick a string. The only solution that I can think of would be
loaded
guts.
Mathias
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