The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck that houses the second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box with a flat top, typically with one or three sound holes decorated with rosettes.

2022年5月13日 · Towards the end of the 16th century, a group of musicians in Italy began experimenting with a new way of tuning their lutes, lowering the top two strings by an octave and using much longer strings to create an instrument with a particular tone quality and a bright resonance, known as the theorbo.

Theorbo, large bass lute, or archlute, used from the 16th to the 18th century for song accompaniments and for basso continuo parts. It had six to eight single strings running along the fingerboard and, alongside them, eight off-the-fingerboard bass strings, or diapasons.

2024年1月4日 · The theorbo might look ridiculous, but it is often the loudest single instrument in the band, barring brass instruments. Though invented as an accompaniment instrument, theorbo jocks went on to create a small but notable solo repertoire.

Welcome to the virtual home of the theorbo, and the website of British lutenist and musicologist Lynda Sayce. Here you can find information about Lynda’s concerts, courses where she is teaching, and details of her publications and recordings.

The very large size of the theorbo, coupled with its very long neck, make it one of the most visually distinctive instruments ever made. The resultant instrument was superbly suited to the accompaniment of the new recitative style, used in monody and in the earliest operas, which developed in the same milieu.

A theorbo, also sometimes called a chitarrone, is a lute with a long neck extension. A theorbo has two pegboxes, one at the top of the fingerboard and the other at the end of the extension. The extended neck is necessary allows for a clear and sustained sound from low bass strings.

North points out the advantages of the theorbo as an accompaniment instrument: It is louder than the lute. The sound quality is bright, despite its pitch, and carries well in an ensemble. Unlike contemporary keyboard instruments, it has a subtle graduation of dynamics from very strong to very quiet. This is one of its most important qualaties.

The theorbo is a musical instrument. It is a lute with a longer neck. It is played by plucking the strings with one hand. Another hand presses the strings. This changes the pitch. It has an extra set of bass strings. This gives the theorbo a bigger range of notes to play. It was used to play basso continuo parts in the baroque period.

Modern theorbo players are fighting a losing battle for audibility in large venues, against large forces, often against inauthentically modern instruments. Our major weapon in this battle is to use instruments of historical size, which were expressly built to suit large venues and large forces. How do I hold a theorbo?