The lute, a plucked string instrument whose gentle and intimate sound shaped centuries of European music. The lute is a plucked string instrument with a pear-shaped body and a short neck, in which sound is produced by plucking the strings with the fingers or a quill. The Western form of the lute, however, follows a more specific historical trajectory. It entered Europe during the period of Moorish presence in the Iberian Peninsula (711–1492) . The very name of the instrument reflects this origin: the word lute derives from the Arabic al-ʿūd , meaning “the wood,” a reference to the instrument’s wooden construction. The History of the Lute The lute is among the oldest string instruments in human history. Its origins can be traced back more than 4,500 years to ancient Mesopotamia, where early long-necked instruments with resonating bodies appear in visual and archaeological evidence from civilizations of the Near East. Through trade routes and cultural exchange, si...
A curated collection of writings on music, its creators, and the ideas behind it.