Laouto
Laouto , Greek λαούτο , pronounced la ú to ( n. Sg. ), Is a long-necked lute played in Greek music . Other spellings are lagouto (λαγούτο) and lavouto (λαβούτο).
The word laouto is derived from the Arabic al-ʿūd (العود, literally 'the wood', to denote the oud ). The instrument itself also resembles Arabic and Turkish sounds, such as the Turkish saz . Today, it usually has four double strings made of steel , with a plectrum plucked. The strings are usually tuned in fifths , with the two strings of a choir being tuned in unison or octave apart. The first pair of strings is a fourth above the second, so the instrument is tuned backwards . The mainland instruments are mostly tuned to CGDa, the typically Cretan laouto, which is larger in size, is a quart lower (GDAe). There are numerous other variations of string tuning.
The laouto is a classic instrument to accompany folk music and folk dances in Greece , especially in Cyprus , Crete and the islands of the Dodecanese . The laouto is only rarely used as a solo instrument, but often to fill melodically passages in which the solo instrument pauses. The main melody instruments used are the violin , lyre or bouzouki .
A laouto with its round body requires a lot of manual work. With the easier to play and cheaper guitar , however, the original tonal coloring of traditional music cannot be achieved.
Web links
- On the history of the Laouto , website of a lute maker in Chania (Greek)
- Summary (engl.)
- Report about the Laouto on Rhodes at www.tabulatura.de