Cuatro (instrument)
(The, also or) Cuatro is a small box necklace loud similar to a guitar with four strings (Spanish cuatro , "four"), even eight and ten for double strings in the north of South America ( Venezuela , Colombia ) and Puerto Rico played becomes.
The cuatro is widespread in Venezuela . The cuatro is about 80 cm long, of which the neck takes up about 45 cm. The body is about 25 cm wide and 10 cm deep. It is played with fast rhythmic beats and is rarely plucked.
Typical rhythms are the Vals and the Joropo in 6/8 time. With complicated rhythmic beats and dampers in chord playing, the cuatro takes over the functions of the percussion at the same time as the chord accompaniment.
The cuatro is tuned like a ukulele , but compared to this the 1st and 4th strings sound an octave lower, i.e. either g-c'-e'-a or a-d'-f sharp'-b.
The cuatro played in salsa music by musicians like Yomo Toro in the Caribbean is significantly larger and has an almost violin-shaped body. Like the Cuban Tres , it has double strings - five. The name cuatro refers to the tuning , the cuatro is tuned in fourths (HEADG).
In addition to this modern instrument, there is a variant with four pairs of strings, tres puntos , and various older forms: tulipán, antiguo and higuera .
literature
- Ramón Hernández: Cuatro. In: Grove Music Online, October 16, 2013
Web links
- Cuatristas, instrument makers and various types of Cuatro in Puerto Rico. Spanish and English: http://www.cuatro-pr.org/