Build your own Renaissance Lute!
I have created a comprehensive course in CD-ROM or USB memory stick form, for anyone who would like to make their own 6 or 7 course renaissance lute based on the Georg Gerle lute of c.1560.
I will normally send this in CD form, but if you would prefer it on a USB memory stick please email me separately now or when you order.
Start of review in Classical Guitar, Nov 2003. Click here to read the whole review.
This is a renaissance lute version of the successful baroque lute-making course which took place on the internet from April 1999 to April 2000.
This time the lute is based on an original lute made by Georg Gerle (Vienna SAM 31) probably sometime in the 1560's. 60cm string length, 6 courses [extendable to 7 in the course]; 11 ribs: the original is a 6 course lute in ivory with ebony strips between. The neck is inlaid with broad ebony stripes and is deeper than a semicircle in cross section, typical of early renaissance 6 course lutes. The pegbox has an inlaid ebony edging. Click here to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum website and see the original with some informative text in German.
This is a suitable instrument for playing the music of John Dowland and earlier music and will, I hope, be of interest to guitarists who would like to try their hand at lute music but are put off by the cost of acquiring their own instrument.
The lute should take about a year to complete on the basis of spending about 3 hours a week on it. I’ve had over 20 years experience in teaching amateurs and fellow professionals to make lutes and other instruments and I believe it is an entirely possible undertaking, even for those with little woodworking experience. However it will require a certain level of commitment and determination.
This is a completely revised and enlarged version of the successful course which took place on the internet from December 2001 to March 2003.
If you read German, there is a very nice review of this course by Hajo Dezelski in the latest issue of the German guitar magazine: Gitarre Aktuell GAK Nr. 82 (III/03)
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The CD is compatible with Mac and PC systems and is read by your own internet browser of any sort, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Netscape or Internet Explorer etc.. It requires no internet access to complete the course, although there are live links to the web for further reading.
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Participants are encouraged to send pictures of their progress or their difficulties to be posted on the website.
For more information about this case please click here.
The costs of the materials and the few tools required will vary from country to country and according to their quality; but as a guide, I would estimate a total cost of about £120 for materials if you turn your own pegs or £160 if you buy the pegs. The material costs can easily be spread over the period of making, since you don't need anything other than the wood for the back at first.
Further details of materials and suppliers can be seen on the information pages below.
Price £80.00 plus post.
Please select your postal area and click on the appropriate button
If you want the package sent to a different address from your billing address, please contact me before paying, otherwise I might send it off to the wrong address!
If this is a gift for someone, please just me with their name and I can include a version of the introductory letter that says it is a gift from you but does not mention the price .
I will normally send this in CD form, but if you would prefer it on a USB memory stick please email me separately now!
| UK (First Class post)
The price will include £3.70 First Class post | |
| Europe
The price will include £8.47 Airmail post | |
| World, except USA and Australasia
The price will include £12.23 Airmail post | |
| USA
The price will include £17.73 Airmail post (Sorry about this, but USA has unilaterally and dramatically raised its prices for incoming post!) | |
| Australasia
The price will include £13.02 Airmail post |
Alternatively I welcome payment by Sterling cheque drawn on a UK bank. Please work out the correct total for your postal area and then make out a cheque for that amount to David Van Edwards and send it to me at:
The Smokehouse, 6 Whitwell Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 4HB, England
If you wish to buy both the baroque and the renaissance courses at once, I can offer a £20 discount, which makes a total
Price £140 plus post
Please select your postal area and click on the appropriate button
| UK (First Class post)
The price will include £3.70 First Class post | |
| Europe
The price will include £8.47 Airmail post | |
| World, except USA and Australasia
The price will include £12.23 Airmail post | |
| USA
The price will include £17.73 Airmail post (Sorry about this, but USA has unilaterally and dramatically raised its prices for incoming post!) | |
| Australasia
The price will include £13.02 Airmail post |
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USE THESE BUTTONS TO NAVIGATE THE LUTE BUILDING COURSE SITE |
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| Woods | Tools | Suppliers | Glue FAQ |
| Build your own Baroque Lute! | |||
| A gallery of the work of some of the students who are taking part in the course | |||
| A sample lesson from the course | |||