Lute vs. Guitar — What's the Difference?

Requires specialized techniques for plucking.

Versatile in sound and style.

Symbol of medieval and Renaissance music.

Played with a variety of techniques.

A stringed musical instrument with a rounded back and long fretted neck.

A popular stringed instrument with a flat back and typically six strings.

Often associated with complex tuning systems.

Central to many modern music genres.

Historically used in court and folk music.

Easily recognizable by its standard tuning.

A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.

The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand.

A plucked stringed instrument with a long neck bearing frets and a rounded body with a flat front, rather like a halved egg in shape.

A stringed musical instrument, with a fretted fingerboard, typically incurved sides, and six or twelve strings, played by plucking or strumming with the fingers or a plectrum.

Liquid clay or cement used to seal a joint, coat a crucible, or protect a graft.

A musical instrument having a flat-backed rounded body that narrows in the middle, a long fretted neck, and usually six strings, played by strumming or plucking.

Seal, join, or coat with lute

(musical instrument) A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).

A stringed instrument having a body shaped like a pear sliced lengthwise and a neck with a fretted fingerboard that is usually bent just below the tuning pegs.

(musical instrument) Any type of musical instrument of the lute family, characterized by a flat back, along with a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard.

A substance, such as dried clay or cement, used to pack and seal pipe joints and other connections or coat a porous surface in order to make it tight. Also called luting.

(rare) To play the guitar.

To coat, pack, or seal with lute.

A stringed instrument of music resembling the lute or the violin, but larger, and having six strings, three of silk covered with silver wire, and three of catgut, - played upon with the fingers.

A fretted stringed instrument of European origin, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard.

A stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or plucking

Thick sticky clay or cement used to close up a hole or gap, especially to make something air-tight.

A packing ring, as of rubber, for fruit jars, etc.

(brickmaking) A straight-edged piece of wood for striking off superfluous clay from earth.

To play on a lute, or as if on a lute.

To fix or fasten something with lute.

A cement of clay or other tenacious infusible substance for sealing joints in apparatus, or the mouths of vessels or tubes, or for coating the bodies of retorts, etc., when exposed to heat; - called also luting.

A packing ring, as of rubber, for fruit jars, etc.

A straight-edged piece of wood for striking off superfluous clay from mold.

A stringed instrument formerly much in use. It consists of four parts, namely, the table or front, the body, having nine or ten ribs or "sides," arranged like the divisions of a melon, the neck, which has nine or ten frets or divisions, and the head, or cross, in which the screws for tuning are inserted. The strings are struck with the right hand, and with the left the stops are pressed.

To close or seal with lute; as, to lute on the cover of a crucible; to lute a joint.

To sound, as a lute.

To play on a lute, or as on a lute.

A substance for packing a joint or coating a porous surface to make it impervious to gas or liquid

Chordophone consisting of a plucked instrument having a pear-shaped body, a usually bent neck, and a fretted fingerboard

While there are similarities, the transition can be challenging due to differences in string number, tuning, and technique.

Yes, lutes are still crafted and played, primarily by early music enthusiasts and historical musicians.

Yes, the guitar is more widely recognized and played in a variety of contemporary music genres today.

Lutes produce a softer, more complex sound suited to early music, while guitars offer a wider range of sounds from gentle melodies to powerful chords.

The lute has a rounded back and a variable number of strings, often used in early music, whereas the guitar has a flat back, typically six strings, and is used across many modern genres.

Historically, lutes used gut strings, while modern guitars typically use nylon or steel strings, though there are exceptions and historical variations.

The lute is primarily associated with medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music.

The guitar's versatility, simpler tuning, and suitability for a wide range of music styles contributed to its widespread popularity.

Yes, with adaptations for tuning and technique, lute music can be played on a guitar.

Yes, composers like John Dowland and Francesco Canova da Milano are renowned for their contributions to lute music.

Challenges include mastering its complex tuning, historical playing techniques, and often a wider neck compared to the guitar.

The guitar serves as a lead, rhythm, and solo instrument across numerous genres, from rock and pop to jazz and classical.

The number of strings on lutes and guitars varies to accommodate the wide range of musical repertoire and sounds characteristic of each instrument.

The lute's rounded back produces a distinct, resonant sound, while the guitar's flat back contributes to its versatility and rich tonal range.

The guitar has evolved in design, string technology, and playing techniques to accommodate a vast array of music genres.