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“
...some of the most ravishing lute playing to be heard anywhere.
”
The Washington Times

Upcoming Concerts

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August 7, 2020

Ronn McFarlane at Elk Run Vineyards and Winery

Elk Run Vineyards and Winery

Mount Airy, MD

August 9, 2020

***POSTPONED***Ayreheart at Springfield Presbyterian Church

Springfield Presbyterian Church

Sykesville, MD

August 13, 2020

***POSTPONED***Ronn McFarlane at The Garage

The Garage

Charlottesville, VA

August 14, 2020

***POSTPONED***Ronn McFarlane at Isis Music Hall

Isis Music Hall

Asheville, NC

August 15, 2020

***POSTPONED***Ronn McFarlane at Bower Center for the Arts

Bower Center for the Arts

Bedford, VA

The Celtic Lute

Ronn's original arrangements of traditional Irish & Scottish folk tunes for the lute

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Beyond the Basics

The Art & Science of Playing the Lute, from the Lute Society of America Quarterly

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History
of the Lute

Explore the ancient past of this instrument of Kings and Queens

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Musical
Performances

Watch videos of Ronn, recorded in the studio and at live shows

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Original
Music

Discover music in the tradition of the lutenist-composer

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Selected Albums

Browse the full Discography

The Celtic Lute

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Barley Moon

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Nine Notes that Shook the World

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Two Lutes

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The Art of Vivaldi's Lute

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Blame Not My Lute

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One Morning

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Adio España

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Bright Day Star

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Live in Concert

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Gut, Wind, and Wire

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Indigo Road

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Adew Dundee

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On Lute Teachers: A master (teacher) should not be too old nor too young. The young one is foolish and hath little experience; the old on his peevish, distasteful, knows not or slights the new manner of playing and the new lessons, hath a bad hand, and hath neither a good voice nor a good action in playing, which is very dangerous for good scholars. Scholars (students) are like apes, or like wax: they take any impression by imitation of their masters. from the Burwell Lute Tutor (c. 1660-1672) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #lute #earlymusic #renaissancemusic #baroquemusic #folkmusic #classicalmusic #musician #classicalguitar #classicalguitarist #music #lutenists #lutenist #guitar #guitarist #guitarra #guitarista #laguitarra #accoustic #accousticmusic #accousticguitar #oud #musicappreciation
Charles Mouton (c. 1698) The little finger of the right hand must rest on the lute top on the side of the bridge where the strings are tied; the other fingers extend to prepare to play, and the thumb extends to a position outside the fingers. After rules for the right hand have been presented, it is appropriate also to provide rules for the left hand. This hand must be positioned that it forms an inner semi-circle that allows the fingers to be placed at their tips easily on the strings and close to the frets (remember that each fret has a single letter across all the strings, themselves distinguished by tablature lines); fingers must be separated from one another and only lifted slightly when different notes are played. For additional facility, the thumb should be under the neck near the edge of the chanterelle and should not extend beyond the middle of the neck regardless of which chord you must play. the thumb should remain across from the 1st and 2nd fingers, avoiding cramping, which is of paramount importance to beautiful lute playing. In addition, the player must never play in a rushed manner, something which listeners with sensitive ears and an understanding of the charm of the kingly instrument will not receive well; but instead one must play fluidly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #lute #earlymusic #renaissancemusic #baroquemusic #folkmusic #classicalmusic #musician #classicalguitar #classicalguitarist #music #lutenists #lutenist #guitar #guitarist #guitarra #guitarista #laguitarra #accoustic #accousticmusic #accousticguitar #oud #musicappreciation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Art: Charles Mouton by Franзois de Troy, Paris, 1690
Esaias Reusner (1676)
Esaias Reusner (1676) Do not always strive to play loudly, but seek to vary the tone color: now and then a little slower and softer, to produce an intelligent musical oration. A good rule is to concentrate on playing beautifully rather than consistently attacking the lute in an aggressive manner. In all cases, it is essential that everything is well expressed and clear. The separations always start at the bottom with the bass, and in order to play in today’s correct manner, the same notes must be played in a spritely rather than in a monotonous way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #lute #earlymusic #renaissancemusic #baroquemusic #folkmusic #classicalmusic #musician #classicalguitar #classicalguitarist #music #lutenists #lutenist #guitar #guitarist #guitarra #guitarista #laguitarra #accoustic #accousticmusic #accousticguitar #oud #musicappreciation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Art: “Lady with a Theorbo” by John Michael Wright, circa 1675