Composing for the Theorbo

Compiled by Lynda Sayce

The theorbo offers tremendous possibilities to composers. Its voice has something of the lute, the guitar and the harp, but it also has resources available on no other instrument. However, its extraordinary tuning and specialized notation can be off-putting. The following pages are designed to give composers the information they need to compose effectively for the theorbo, and to write the resultant parts down in a mutually convenient way. Topics covered include:

This page: the theorbo's sound, range and tunings, available notes

Page 2: right hand techniques, dynamics, changes of tone, appropriate textures

Page 3: left hand techniques, slurs, slides, ornaments

Page 4: miscellaneous: harmonics, microtones, other scale systems, extended techniques, amplification

Page 5: notation

Timbre and Volume

The theorbo produces a sound roughly comparable in volume to a classical guitar, but relatively stronger in the bass and weaker in the upper register. The exact timbre will depend on the individual instrument and on whether or not its player uses nails. Nails will produce a harder-edged attack, flesh will produce a softer-edged sound, which is not necessarily softer in volume. Because its voice is relatively soft in modern terms, the theorbo will not suit every musical situation. It combines especially well with voices, with other types of plucked instrument, with other historical instruments, of course, but also with smallish ensembles of almost anything if handled sensitively. It can even make an effective contribution to a symphonic score if the texture and orchestration are suitably light.

Range and tuning

The theorbo is normally tuned in A, but some players, especially in continental Europe, tune their theorbos in G. If you are writing for a specific player it would be advisable to check which tuning they use, otherwise the A tuning was historically more common, and is more widespread today.

A typical theorbo has 14 courses, some fretted and some not, and a re-entrant tuning, which means that its fretted strings are not arranged in pitch order, as on a guitar or violin. Historically, the fretted courses were double (and are so indicated on the tuning chart below) but most modern players use single strings there.

A theorbo in A is tuned:

Its range is GG - a'. Some instruments will have a high b' but this is not usually very accessible.

A theorbo in G is tuned a tone lower than the theorbo in A. Its range is FF - g'. Some instruments will have a high a' but this is not usually very accessible.

Chromatic capability

Historically, only the first six strings are fretted. Modern theorbos sometimes have more fretted strings but it is safest to assume only six. These strings (the ones preceding the double barline in my tuning examples) are chromatically fretted, like a guitar, and available notes range from the open string pitch to a minor 7th above.

The 8 lower strings are diatonic only, and are typically tuned to the white notes of the piano keyboard. These can be adjusted for different keys - for example, the F string can be tuned to F sharp, the E string to E flat, etc. - but they cannot be retuned during playing. If you are not writing tonal music you could specify which notes you want in this register, but it is not advisable to tune these strings more than a semitone above or a tone below their normal pitch.

Locating and combining fretted notes

The theorbo's characteristic tuning means that many notes can be found in several places on the fingerboard, and the combinations are restricted only by the reach of the player's hand. The theorbo varies in size, but is basically a large instrument, so it is safest to restrict chords to notes falling within a 4-fret stretch, and to use even this stretch sparingly in the lower positions. You can download a map of the theorbo's fingerboard here. This is for a theorbo tuned in A, with two re-entrant strings.

next ›››

 

Return to the Theorbo Information Page

Home