Scott Baker - Cittern Promo

Scott is playing a Renaissance Cittern made in the North of England, by N W Brook. This instrument was popular during the Tudor and Jacobean eras with the aristocratic amateur, and was later used in Barber shops to pass the time waiting!

The Cittern had a scary looking clown/jester's head carved on the end of the headstock. Shakespeare used it as an insult, "cittern head!" in Love's Labour's Lost!

This instrument had it's own repertoire and could be used to accompany broadside ballad singing.

Scott is playing dances by Anthony Holbourne and from the Matthew Holmes Mss.

The Renaissance Cittern is not to be confused with modern folk instrument of the same name.

Also guest staring: My knee!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• scott
• baker
• renaissance
• cittern
• tudor
• jacobean
• shakespeare
• pavane
• almain
• lute
• Grimstock

[Domytar]

Brill man,can i see a carved face on the top of the peg box aswell.

[purp68]

You can - I do music workshops with children, and they always laugh at the carved head:-)

[paul6000000]

If it's strung in 4 courses, do you think it would be possible to tune it adf#b (like a taropatch ukulele)?

[purp68]

Not sure about the taropatch bit, but if you're talking about a ukulele then I guess so. The registers of the instruments sound similar.

[michaeljking]

Do you know what instrument it is based on? Is it diatonic or chromatic fretted? strung in iron and brass stringing? Are the tune books for these instruments in print? I will make one at some point,I have plans of a dutch Cittern found in a shipwreck,it is partially fretted with inlaid frets,simply ornamented.

[purp68]

The cittern is the English 4-course type. Chromatically fretted with a mixture of steel and brass strings.

[squarego1]

Is that the great Joseph Sobol paying very close attention in the front row?

[squarego1]

Is that the great Joseph Sobol paying very close attention in the front row? Oh no, it's your knee!

[SpaceHeadMonkey]

I think that's the first time I've actually heard one, very nice. Please keep playing and posting on YouTube.

[zowiebowie1]

What an extremely talented young man!!

[NerdFury]

might be better to tune a mandolin like a cittern.

[Jeffsterren]

Wow, that sounds fantastic!

Keep playing that cittern!

[lpremo3000]

yea, I thought the knee was a head for a while. nice playing though

[Brucis51]

In the foreground is your knee?

Disgusting. I cannot concentrate on music.