String instrument | |
---|---|
Other names | Grand Charango |
Classification | String instrument |
Hornbostel–Sachs classification | (Composite chordophone) |
Developed | 2001 in Lima, Peru |
Playing range | |
A3-C7 | |
Related instruments | |
Charango, Ronrocco, Walyacho, Chillador |
The hatun charango (Quechua : "grand charango") is a small plucked chordophone (stringed instrument) from Peru, related to the guitars and lutes. Specifically, it is a form of charango, which has either seven or (usually) eight strings arranged in seven courses.
The hatun charango is a relatively modern instrument, conceived by virtuoso charanguista Federico Tarazona, and first constructed to his design by luthier Fernando Luna of Lima, in mid 2001. [1] The instrument was developed as a means of extending the range and versatility of the charango to embrace a more universal repertoire, including classical guitar and lute music. [2]
Whereas the charango has a bowl-shaped back and is more closely related to the lute, the hatun charango has the flat back of the chillador, making it a closer relative of the guitar. Typically, the instrument is about 27 inches (686 mm) long, by 7-1/4 inches (186 mm) wide, by 3-1/2 inches (89 mm) deep. As with most members of the charango family, the neck is very wide and the headstock very long, compared to the relatively small body.
The common charango has ten strings arranged in five courses. The hatun charango basically adds one or (usually) two bass courses to this arrangement, while eliminating doublings on all but the third course. The resulting seven course instrument is tuned: (A3) • D4 • G4 • C5 • E5 E4 • A4 • E5. This arrangement preserves the reentrant tuning of the charango for courses one through five, while adding the D4 and A3 bass strings for courses six and seven, respectively. One unique feature of this instrument is that the added bass courses are fretted independently of the upper five courses, resulting in a somewhat "jagged" appearance to the fingerboard. This is done to achieve correct intonation on the bass strings of this very short, otherwise treble-pitched instrument. On the original design, the scale for the upper five courses is approximately 370 mm, while for the two bass courses the scale is about 380 mm. [3]
The sound is similar to that of the charango and chillador, but the range is that of the ronroco and charango combined. [3]
Since its invention in 2001, and largely as a result of the many compositions for, and performances on the hatun charango by Tarazona, the instrument has become popular, and several luthiers (including Tarazona himself) currently produce examples. Aquila sells a prepackaged string set for both 7- and 8-string models.
The classical guitar is a member of the guitar family used in classical music. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the acoustic and electric guitars which use metal strings. Classical guitars are derived from the Spanish vihuela and gittern in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, which later evolved into the seventeenth and eighteenth century Baroque guitar and later the modern classical guitar in the mid nineteenth century.
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that usually has six strings. It is typically played with both hands by strumming or plucking the strings with either a guitar pick or the finger(s)/fingernails of one hand, while simultaneously fretting with the fingers of the other hand. The sound of the vibrating strings is projected either acoustically, by means of the hollow chamber of the guitar, or through an electrical amplifier and a speaker.
A lute is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer to an instrument from the family of European lutes. The term also refers generally to any string instrument having the strings running in a plane parallel to the sound table. The strings are attached to pegs or posts at the end of the neck, which have some type of turning mechanism to enable the player to tighten the tension on the string or loosen the tension before playing, so that each string is tuned to a specific pitch. The lute is plucked or strummed with one hand while the other hand "frets" the strings on the neck's fingerboard. By pressing the strings on different places of the fingerboard, the player can shorten or lengthen the part of the string that is vibrating, thus producing higher or lower pitches (notes).
A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is usually plucked with a plectrum. It commonly has four courses of doubled metal strings tuned in unison, although five and six course versions also exist. The courses are typically tuned in a succession of perfect fifths, with the same tuning as a violin. It is the soprano member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass.
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when the performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, which probably originated in the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during colonialization. The instrument is widespread throughout the Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina, where it is a popular musical instrument that exists in many variant forms.
The bouzouki, also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and a long neck with a fretted fingerboard. It has steel strings and is played with a plectrum producing a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but pitched lower. There are two main types of bouzouki: the trichordo (three-course) has three pairs of strings and the tetrachordo (four-course) has four pairs of strings. The instrument was brought to Greece in the 1900s by Greek immigrants from Turkey, and quickly became the central instrument to the rebetiko genre and its music branches. It is now an important element of modern Greek music.
The seven-string guitar adds one additional string to the more common six-string guitar, commonly used to extend the bass range or also to extend the treble range.
The bandora or bandore is a large long-necked plucked string-instrument that can be regarded as a bass cittern though it does not have the re-entrant tuning typical of the cittern. Probably first built by John Rose in England around 1560, it remained popular for over a century. A somewhat smaller version was the orpharion.
A tiple, is a plucked-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a tiplista. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although many variations of the instrument exist, the tiple is mostly associated with Colombia, and is considered the national instrument.
Bajo sexto is a Mexican string instrument with 12 strings in 6 double courses. A closely related instrument is the bajo quinto which has 10 strings in 5 double courses.
A course, on a stringed musical instrument, is a either one string or two or more adjacent strings that are closely spaced relative to the other strings, and typically played as a single string. The strings in each multiple-string course are typically tuned in unison or an octave.
The name chillador can refer either to two related types of charango. The First type, simple called chillador is a type of charango which has a flat back and is usually steel-strung. It exists in both 10-and 12-string forms. When strung with 10-strings it is tuned the same as a charango. With 12 strings, courses 2 and 4 are triple-strung, and the (re-entrant) tuning is more like that of a charangone or ronroco in Argentine tuning. The chillador charango is a standardly-tuned charango but with a body built from bent sides and a flat back like a (smaller) guitar,
The jarana jarocha is a guitar-shaped fretted stringed instrument from the southern region of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Typically strung with 8 strings in 5 courses, usually arranged in two single outer strings with three double-courses in between. The strings are usually nylon, although they were gut in the past. The body is somewhat narrower than a guitar because of its direct lineage from the Spanish baroque guitar of the sixteenth century. Sometimes mistaken for a ukulele, the jarana jarocha comes in at least five sizes, the smallest being the chaquiste, somewhat smaller than a soprano ukulele; then the mosquito, about the size of a soprano ukulele; the 'primera', about the size of a concert ukulele; the 'segunda', in length between a tenor and a baritone ukulele; and the 'tercera', somewhat longer than the baritone ukulele. Some luthiers are building jaranas of a size they label "tercerola" or "jarana cuarta", but there is some discussion as to whether these represent a distinct size or are merely particularly large variations of the standard tercera.
An extended-range bass is an electric bass guitar with a wider frequency range than a standard-tuned four-string bass guitar.
A classical guitar with additional strings is a nylon-string or gut-string classical guitar with more than six strings, in which the additional strings pass over a fingerboard so that they may be "stopped" or fretted with the fingers. These are also known as extended-range guitars, and should not be confused with harp guitars.
Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucking can be done with either a finger or a plectrum.
There are many varieties of ten-string guitar, including:
The eleven-string alto guitar is an extended-range classical guitar developed by Swedish luthier Georg Bolin in the 1960s.
The bandolin is a 15-stringed musical instrument in Ecuador. It is used as a rhythm and melody instrument in the Andean region of Ecuador during festivals where dancing and music are involved. It has a flat back and 15 strings in triple courses.