The 10-course lute was the last lute to use the "renaissance" tuning outside Italy. It was used from around 1610 to the middle of the century and it was on this instrument that the French developed a new style of playing and experimented with new tunings. This resulted in the adoption of the so-called "baroque" or d-minor tuning. My example displays the next development from my 8-course lute. The back is again made of yew but with many more ribs; in this case 31.