Theorbo
Theorbo is a long-necked lute from the Baroque period. It has an extended neck with a second pegbox and a deep bass section, called diapasons, that adds a powerful sound. Like a lute, you pluck the strings with the right hand and fret them with the left hand to make notes and chords. The big difference is its re-entrant tuning, where the first two strings are tuned an octave lower than the others, giving the instrument a rich, harp-like bass.
It grew in Italy in the late 16th century to provide a larger bass range for opera and other new music, especially for basso continuo. The theorbo was used to accompany singers and also played solo. Italian composers such as Kapsberger and Piccinini wrote for it, and it found popularity in France and England as well. By the 18th century, it fell out of fashion in England and was eventually replaced by the archlute, though it remained in use in France and other places for longer.
Most theorbos have about 14 courses of strings (some have more). The bass strings extend along the long neck, and many strings are guitar-like single courses, though some instruments used doubles. Strings were traditionally gut, but some were made with metal. The re-entrant tuning and long bass section shape how music is written for the instrument, and bass notes are often kept sounding an octave lower to align with other voices in the group.
Notation for the theorbo is usually in tablature, showing where to place the fingers on the neck. The instrument shines in chordal, scale, and arpeggio work across many strings, producing a colorfully full sound.
Related instruments include the chitarrone (an older Italian form), the archlute, and the French theorbo-lute. A Ukrainian descendant known as the torban also shares the same idea but with its own twists.
Today the theorbo is still used by early-music ensembles and by modern composers who write new works for it, keeping its historic sound alive while exploring new musical ideas.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:48 (CET).