This landmark book constitutes Mel Bay's first anthology of Renaissance lute andmandora literature in its original tablature form. It also offers the same 56 tunes tastefully transcribed in standard modern guitar notation and tab. For the academically inclined or those who simply want to examine the original scores, this edition includes a downloadable folio of the original lute and mandoratablature plus a thorough explanation of the lute tablature system. The lute part is included in the book and is also available as an online download

This collection presents carefully crafted guitar arrangements of 44 lute pieces in standard notation together with a pull-out supplement of the original lute notation in French tablature. the music in this book was drawn from three important lute manuscripts: the Rowallan Lute Book (c. 1620) for 10-course lute, the Wemyss Lute Book (c. 1644-1648) for 10-course lute, and the Balcarres Lute Book (c. 1700) for 11-course lute in d minor tuning. Original spelling is retained in the titles with the often-fanciful end result still legible. Even with the sixth string frequently tuned to D, players at the intermediate level should find these pieces rewarding sight-reading material. Those who wish to add the suggested ornamentation will be duly challenged.

This book is aimed at beginner lute and guitar players interested in playing Renaissance lute music on either instrument. Lute and guitar tablature are included, along with notes on technique, biographies of lute composers from the 16th century, and general advice on buying, stringing and tuning a lute. The book starts with single-line melodies, before progressing to two-part and full repertoire pieces. Selections include works by great Renaissance composers such as John Dowland, Francesco da Milano, Alonso Mudarra, Francesco Spinacino and others, with music from England, Scotland, Italy, France and Germany. A useful chord chart is also included. Every piece in the book has been recorded fordownload by Rob MacKillop--in itself, an album worth owning. Access to the online audio is included.

"Spring focuses on the lute in Britain, but also includes two chapters devoted to continental developments: one on the transition from medieval to renaissance, the other on renaissance to baroque, and the lute in Britain is never treated in isolation. Six chapters cover all aspects of the lute's history and its music in England from 1285 to well into the eighteenth century, whilst other chapters cover the instrument's early history, the lute in consort, lute song accompaniment, the theorbo, and the lute in Scotland."--Jacket.

For years, classical guitarists have enjoyed playing the lute music of the English composer, John Dowland (1563-1626). Forty of his beautiful compositions are included in this volume. the book is intended for the guitarist with intermediate to advanced fingerstyle technique, and can be played on both nylon and steel string instruments. In order to help capture the unique character of Dowland's music, renaissance lute tuning (capo on the third fret with the G string tuned to F sharp) is used throughout. the pieces progress more or less in order of increasing difficulty, and special care has been taken to be sure any group of consecutive pieces can be played with satisfying results. Standard notation only. Includes FREE downloadable companion audio files.

Selected music from the historic "March Lute Book" scored for classic guitar solo. This edition is complete with copious historic and performance notes. A scholarly book containing wonderful solo settings for classic guitar.

Many great Scottish traditional tunes such as Flowers Of The Forest can be traced back to the 17th century—a period when writing down tunes in manuscript collections for the lute was of high interest. Rob MacKillop has created very playable arrangements for the mandolin featuring 25 popular tunes from the Skene, Balcarres, Panmure and Straloch manuscripts. This is a wonderful collection of dance tunes and airs, most of which have not been available for the mandolin until now. The notation is in treble clef with tablature for GDAE tuning. Includes access to online audio featuring Rob Mackillop’s performance of each piece. Get ready to explore a wonderful new take on old repertoire!