If you’re brand new to the lute world, first of all, welcome! We hope that you’ll find a community in the LSA and that we’ll be able to help guide you on your journey to learn more about the lute and other early plucked strings.
What is a Lute?
To learn about the lute and related instruments, their history, anatomy, and repertoire, navigate to About > The Instruments in the main menu above, and explore the pages you find there.
Finding an Instrument
If you’re looking to purchase an affordable lute, the best option is usually to purchase a second-hand instrument made by a luthier. You can find listings on our Lutes for Sale page. If you can, try out the lute before purchasing it, and have a teacher advise you on your purchase. There are also some good quality manufactured lutes available, but it is wise to be very wary of the cheaper ones. These are often unplayable without having a lot of work done on them by an experienced luthier (who may be reluctant to work on such an instrument), and may end up costing far more than the price they sell for.
If you would prefer to rent an instrument, check out our Lute Rental Program!
Finding a Teacher
The lute is not an easy instrument to learn on your own. We recommend that you find a teacher to help ensure that you develop healthy and effective technique, as it’s much more difficult to correct poor technique than it is to learn it right the first time, and much easier to prevent injuries than to recover from them. To find a teacher in your area, or one who offers lessons online, search our Professional Directory.
Beginner’s Guide
If you’re new to playing the lute, we recommend that you start by taking a look at our Beginner’s Guide to the Renaissance Lute. It serves as a good introduction to lute anatomy, basic maintenance and technique, tuning, tablature, and more! Please note that it was originally written in 2016 for those renting an instrument from our Lute Rental Program, and has not yet been updated, so some of the links may not work. However, you should be able to find the resources mentioned, either on our website, or with a quick internet search.