Charango

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about an instrument. There is also an album called Charango.

The charango is a small South American stringed instrument of the lute family, about 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo (not to be confused with a Cuban style of music called "charanga").

1 History
2 Construction
3 Tuning
4 Variants
5 External links

[edit]

History

When the Spanish 'conquistadors' came to South America, they brought the vihuela (an ancestor of the classical guitar) with them. There are many stories of how the charango came to be made with its distinctive diminutive soundbox of armadillo. One story says that the native musicians liked the sound the vihuela made, but lacked the technology to shape the wood in that manner. Another story says that the Spaniards prohibited natives from practicing their ancestral music, and that the charango was a (successful) attempt to make a lute that could be easily hidden under a garment. It is believed the charango originated in the 18th century Andes, probably from Amerindian contact with Spanish settlers.

[edit]

Construction

Originally made with a dried armadillo shell for the back and wood for the soundbox top, neck etc, today charangos are commonly made of wood, with a bowled back imitating the shape of the armadillo shell. Unlike most wooden lutes, the body and neck are typically made of a single block of wood, carved into shape. The charango's ten strings require quite a large headstock, often approaching or even exceeding the size of its diminutive sound box. Aside from these visual distinctions, it resembles a small ukulele.

The overall length of a typical charango is about 66 cm, with a string scale length of about 37 cm.

There are many variations in the shape of the top in "plan view" and species of wood, though cedar or spruce family woods are preferred for the soundboard (top), and there is generally a narrowed "waist" somewhat reminiscent of the guitar-family--not the pear-shape of the lute.

The typical construction is a one-piece body and neck, classical guitar style peghead and machine tuners, spruce top, and some degree of ornamentation. Variations include a separate glued-on neck, palisander or ebony vertical tuning pegs, guitar-style box construction, or even a hollowed-out neck. The size and shape of the soundholes is highly variable and may be dual crescents, round hole, oval hole, or even multiple holes of varying arrangement.

More recently solidbody electric and hollowbody acoustic-electric charangos are coming on the scene. The solidbodies are built very much as miniature electric guitars, whereas the acoustic-electrics are usually more like a standard acoustic charango.

[edit]

Tuning

The charango has five pairs (or courses) of strings, typically tuned GCEAE. This tuning, disregarding octaves, is similar to the typical C-tuning of the 'ukulele or the Venezuelan cuatro, with the addition of a second E-course. Unlike most other stringed instruments, all ten strings are tuned inside one octave. The five courses are pitched as follows (from 5th to 1st course): gg cc eE aa ee. Some charanguistas use "octave" strings on other pairs in addition to the middle course. Note that the lowest pitch is the 1st "E" string in the middle course, followed by the "g" course, then the "a" course, then the "c" and finally the "e" strings. This tuning pattern is known as a re-entrant pattern because the pitches of the strings do not rise steadily from one string or course to the next.

The ramifications of the charango tuning is that there is a very narrow tonal range in most chords, and so there is a tremendous wall of sound. Seventh and ninth chords shimmer more than on a guitar due to the close harmonies.

[edit]

Variants

The ronroco is a larger relative of the charango, usually tuned one octave lower. The walaycho (also hualaycho, or maulincho) is a smaller relative, usually tuned a fourth higher (sometimes a 5th higher). In addition depending on who you are talking to in South America, there is also a "charangon" which is tuned lower than a charango. There are various types--some are a 4th down, others a 5th, yet others are an octave down. For example, in Bolivia a ronroco is an octave down from a charango, and a charangon is in-between. Conversely in Argentina the ronroco is a 4th down from the charango (what the Bolivians would call a charangon) and therefore the Argentinian ronroco is one octave below the maulincho.

There are also charangos with more than 10 strings, and there are both steel string and nylon string charangos. There is a flat-backed charango known as a chillador which is typically steel stringed. Some steel-stringed versions have all ten strings at the same gauge.

[edit]