This is the first book-length study in any language dedicated specifically to lute, guitar, and vihuela performance. Written by specialists of this music, it is intended for players, teachers, and scholars who are interested both in the history of performance, and in the specific interpretation of lute, guitar and vihuela music from the end of the fifteenth century to approximately 1850. It brings to light various new ideas about performance and technique for a wide range of instruments, including the fifteenth-, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian lute, archlute, theorbo, French Baroque lute, vihuela, and Baroque and classical guitar, as well as for lute-accompanied English and Italian song. The articles in this book decode the unwritten traditions of these instruments, and examine various performance issues, taking a fresh, innovative look at traditional problems.