The Lyrical Accompaniment of the LUTE

Lute - Photo by quinet

In general, a lute is a stringed instrument that loosely resembles a guitar, but has a round body, a deep and round back, a fretted or unfretted neck and is a member of the family of European lutes. The instrument is played by plucking the strings, which vibrate and create the sound.

The strings are placed over a bridge which allows them to vibrate freely and the body of the lute is hollow in order to intensify the sound so that others can clearly hear the instrument. While the instrument is not overly popular today, it was incredibly popular during the baroque music period when people would play the instrument alone or as an accompaniment to other instruments.

When the lute was created is not clear. There is much speculation about how long it has been around. Some say that a variation of the lute may have existed during the time of the Ancient Egyptians, but others say it may not have existed until the 1500s. It is difficult to tell when exactly the lute was first created because there were so many instruments that existed throughout history that somewhat resemble the lute.

Though most may think that the lute is an instrument of the past, it is one that is still played today; however, the instrument is often custom made and is not one that is easily found in used music stores. As a result, this particular stringed instrument can be quite expensive to acquire. Finding someone who can teach one how to play the lute is not as difficult and the lessons may not be as expensive as they can be for other instruments.

In general, the lute is not the first instrument that people will choose to play, probably because it is not one that is seen as often as the guitar or the saxophone. The general population is influenced by the instruments they see most often, which will leave the lute out of the picture because it is not too common in much of today’s music.

This is not to say that the lute will never gain popularity again or that there is not really any place for it. People who play the lute find music to play, though it may not exactly be rock and roll.

Anyone looking for a unique instrument that is out of the norm might want to give the lute a try. It has its own unique sound that is not duplicated by other instruments and one that takes skill and practice to be able to play the instrument well. It can be a little challenging for some, while it can be easier for others at the same time. Some experience with playing the guitar might make learning how to play the lute easier, while someone with no experience is starting from scratch so they may have a more difficult time at first. Someone who really has an interest in learning to play the lute will probably have little difficulty regardless of whether they have previous experience with stringed instruments or not.

By Victor Epand Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments. Article Source: EzineArticles

---

---

A New MUSIC OF THE ORIENT: a Touch of the West and a Dash of the Divine

Photo  by max_wei 

A new musical fusion has arisen in New York and it's not the kind you can catch for ten dollars at a club in the West Village. For the many thousands of Chinese immigrants trying to stay afloat in a new world and for those westerners who have always wanted to understand the Chinese but have shied away for lack of a way in--for anyone who has wondered where the two civilizations connect, the answer may lie not in words, but in music.

Lisa Li is a master of the pipa (Chinese lute) and a graduate of the Chinese Conservatory of China. She has composed and performed across Europe, Asia and the United States, and her playing was featured in the Academy Award-winning movie The Last Emperor.  Now, as one of the lead composers for New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese New Year Spectacular, a grand scale performance of traditional Chinese dance and song, Lisa has created what she believes to be a new kind of sound--based on ancient Chinese folk and religious music, but going beyond either of them. 

“Music is alive because, in the view of the Chinese ancients, every single object in the world has a life. In fact, in Chinese, when we refer to a musical note we call it a ‘live note,’” she explains. But according to Lisa, it must be composed and played from the heart—sometimes in ways that sound foreign to the western ear. 

But the melodies are far from random. Lisa’s music, like all traditionally composed Chinese music, is based on a series of pentatonic (5-note) scales. This system has its roots in Taoism, which teaches that all matter is formed from the five basic elements of metal, earth, wood, fire, and water. It teaches that in order for a being to be healthy, it must have all of these elements in balance. So, from the Chinese perspective, a song or piece of music must also contain a uniquely crafted balance of these elements. There are also eight note scales that relate to the Taoist symbol called the Bagua, which is most commonly known in the West as part of the practice of Feng Shui, or geomancy.

An example of this is the piece she wrote for the dance “A Dunhuang Dream.” The dance is set against a backdrop of thousands of caves carved into the sides of cliffs as they are in the Moago Grottoes in the Dunhuang region of China. Seated at the mouth of each cave is a Buddhist or Taoist deity. As the dancers emerge, one can hear from the orchestra pit the voices of the erhu (Chinese violin) and guzheng (zither), but these are soon joined by the more recognizable resonance of cello, bass, oboe, and brass.  The result strikes the ear as achingly otherworldly and yet also solidly familiar. 

In fact, the specific ya yue used in the score is the same as that found in the ancient pipa music written on scrolls that were discovered by archaeologists in the actual Dunhuang caves years ago.

“I feel very deeply that music is a heavenly language, a divine language,” Lisa says. “It is able to uplift people’s hearts and minds. It is good for the soul.”

---

---