A number of Renaissance compositions were written specifically for the lute.
The Renaissance period in history, considered to cover the late 14th to early 17th centuries, marked a time of heightened creativity. Although much attention has been focused on the painting and sculpture of the Renaissance, music, too, underwent a rebirth, with the development of new forms of composition and instruments. Some of the stringed instruments played during the Renaissance remain in use today; others became the precursors of modern-day instruments.
Plucked Stringed Instruments
String instruments that are plucked can be played in two ways. They can be plucked by the player's hand -- or hands, in the case of the harp. The lute had a bowed neck and a bowl-shaped back. It was played using a plectrum, often a quill, to pluck the strings. The number of strings varied. The gittern was similar to the lute and is likely a precursor of the guitar; both were also called mandoras. Harpsichords and spinets, although played with a keyboard, are sometimes classified as plucked string instruments. When the key was struck, the rising movement inside the instrument caused a string to be plucked by a quill, emitting a tone.
Bowed String Instruments
Bowed instruments are played by moving a bow across the strings. The rebec, a pear-shaped instrument, was an early precursor of the violin. Like the violin, the rebec was tuned in fifths. Rebecs often had three strings, although the exact number varied. The viol de gamba, still played today, is similar to the modern-day cello; like the cello, the viol is held between the legs. However, unlike four-stringed violins and cellos, which are bowed with an overhand motion, the viol de gamba has six strings that are played using an underhand movement.
