#vihuela

La Vihuela

In the picture above you can see a so called Vihuela, an old string instrument from Spain. It was especially popular in the 16th century not only in Spain, but also in Portugal and parts of Italy.

If you first thought the thing in the picture was a weird looking guitar, you are not completely wrong: The Vihuela actually is one of the predecessors of the modern guitar we know and love today.

When the Moors came to Spain around 711 AD they already brought a fully functional instrument with them, an arabic lute called Oud. From this instrument the Spaniards eventually developed the Vihuela.

Vihuelas could differ in size and also in the number of strings (which were made out of gut), but six strings were the most common version.

There are a few different variants of the instrument:

• Vihuela de mano: this variant is played with the fingers
  
• Vihuela de péñola: this one is played with a plectrum
  
• Vihuela de arco: last but not least this one is played with a bow

Here we can see a vihuela de arco on the left side and a vihuela de péñola on the right side.

Unfortunately, the vihuela lost its popularity in the late 16th century and faded away slowly. There are only few original instruments from that time preserved today.

Here you can listen to a song played on the vihuela. The writer of this song is Luis de Milán, a Spanish Renaissance composer who lived in the 16th century. He was the first to publish music for the vihuela de mano.