text: Smith and others argue that the long-necked variety should not be called lute at all , since it existed for at least a millennium before the appearance of the short-necked instrument that eventually evolved into what is now known as the lute , nor was it ever called a lute before the 20th century .
simplified: The Renaissance lute is also played today , in western countries , as well as a German lute that is played the same way as a guitar .