What type of instrument is a lute?
Lute Lute A lute () is any plucked string instrument with a neck (either fretted or unfretted) and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer to an instrument from the family of European lutes. The term also refers generally to any string instrument having the strings running in a plane parallel to the sound table (in the Hornbostel–Sachs system). The strings are attached to pegs or posts at the end of the neck, which have some type of turning mechanism to enable the
History of lute-family instruments China. By the Song Dynasty the word pipa was used to refer exclusively to the four-stringed pear-shaped instrument. Another type of lute in China is the yueqin, a round bodied instrument with flat top and back. According to tradition, the instrument was invented in China during the 3rd to 5th century A.D. Jin Dynasty. The ruan, another Chinese instrument, is the ancestor of the yueqin. The period overlaps with the period of immigration of ancient non-Han Chinese peoples and invasions, by groups such as the Five Barbarians. The yueqin is a type of ruan, what may be China's oldest lute.