North America

In North America (Canada and USA - including Hawaii) we find mainly the instruments already mentioned in the general historical chapters : (acoustic and electric) guitars, mandolins, banjos, dulcimers, etc. Also included here is Tahiti.

Mexico is the ultimate source for plucked stringed instruments : a very wide variety of different models and sizes; and in most of them you can still recognize the original smaller size European guitars of the 17th century, with 5 strings or double courses.

More plucked instruments of America you can find in : Central America/Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama) South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chili)

In the United States plucked stringed instruments are quite popular and are used in typical American style music :

bluegrass :
steel string guitar, 5 string banjo, mandolin, dobro, (plus string bass and fiddle),

country :
electric (solid body) guitar, (pedal) steelguitar,electric bass guitar, (drums)

folk :
autoharp, appalachian dulcimer

See for all those instruments the general instrument pages.

ukulele

The ukulele is the small guitar of Hawaii. It originated from the rajão (the tuning) and braguinha (the size) of Madeira, which both arrived on the islands in 1879. The ukulele (also spelled ukelele) was soon very popular. When the Hawaiian music reached the USA during the 1920's (together with the Hawaiian guitar) a few million of these instruments were made.

The instrument is made like a small guitar, and the better (more expensive) ones are made from koa wood. But even the cheap plastic ones are said to produce an acceptable sound.

The ukulele comes in different sizes : the normal soprano (scale 34cm), the concert (39cm), the tenor (44cm), the baritone (49cm). All have the same guitar tuning : g' c' e' a', except the baritone : d g b' e'. Notice that the 4th string is higher than the 2nd (re-entrant tuning).

A ukulele always has nylon (or gut) strings, never steel. The tuning pegs could be anything from machine heads to friction pegs, while the body shape can look like a spanish guitar, a mandolin, a pineapple, a sigarbox, etc.

Playing is strumming with the fingers or with a pick, to accompany singing or Hawaiian dance music.

For more information see the site of Ukulelestrummers or Wikipedia.

the relative sizes of : soprano, concert and tenor ukulele

taro patch

The taro patch (or taropatch) is a ukulele with double strings, so 8 strings in 4 courses. The size is usually like the tenor ukulele, with the same tuning.

Also a 6 string ukulele exists, which has two strings double (in octaves). The taro patch with 8 nylon strings has the two top strings in unison and the two bottom strings in octaves. The tuning is like the ukulele : gg' cc' e'e' a'a'.

In case you expected to find Hawaiian guitars here : see under steelguitars. Apparently it is nowadays difficult to find Hawaiian guitars on Hawaii - the slack key guitar seems now the most popular national instrument. This is a normal (usually steel string flat top) guitar, with an open tuning, on which traditional Hawaiian tunes are played.

In the wake of the popularity of the ukulele, the Martin guitar factory made in the 1930's (till 1960's) a small guitar (the size of a tenor ukulele), with steel strings - which was influenced by a South American folk guitar, the tiple [pronounced "tea-play"].

The original tiple (see under Colombia and Chile in South America), has 4 courses of 3 thin metal strings each. The Martin tiple (also made by other factories) however has just 10 strings : 1st and 4th course are double, 2nd and 3th triple.

The tiple is made like a small guitar. The tuning head could be flat (with machines from behind), or slotted (like a classical guitar). The bridge is often a bit larger (rounded on the lower side), probably to have a larger glue surface area for the higher pulling force of 10 steel strings.

The tuning could be like a guitar : aa' d'dd' f#'f#f#' b'b'.

a Martin tiple (from eBay)

Tahitian ukulele

There is also a Tahitian version of the ukulele, which is quite different from the traditional model. It has been developed since the 1990's.

The body (and usually also the neck and head) of the Tahitian ukulele is carved from a single piece of wood in a fluid rounded shape (like a solid body electric guitar), often flattish at the bottom.
A round conical hole is carved right through the middle of the instrument, narrow at the back and wide at the front. The front side is covered with a thin piece of wood, on which a loose bridge rests. The body and head is often decorated with woodcarvings, or it is made of different coloured woods, glued together.

The flat tuning head is usually wider on the top, with tuning machines from behind, 4 on each side. The frets are metal, inlayed in the neck. The fingerboard is flush with the front.

The Tahitian ukulele has usually 4 courses of thin nylon strings (often bright yellow fishlines), and is tuned like the normal ukulele : g'g' c"c" e"e" a'a'.

The sound of the Tahitian ukulele is a bit like an old banjo. So sometimes it is referred to as the Tahitian banjo.

the back with the soundhole

Mexico has a very wide variety of guitar-like instruments. The most well known ones are used in the Mariachi music style, which includes also trumpets, violins, guitarron (bass guitar), etc.

The vihuela is a guitar-like instrument, but slightly smaller (3/4). The back of the body is made in a rather high (almost triangular) vault. Around the edges of front and back are thick strips of rounded purfling.

The fingerboard is flush with the front. There are only 4 tied-on nylon frets. It has 5 nylon strings in re-entrant tuning : a d' g' b e' . The colourful items seen on the bridge are pipe-cleaners, wound round the sharp end of the nylon strings to avoid painful interaction....

Playing is in a typical strumming style with a combination of threes and two's.

The high back of the vihuela, with the round edge purfling.

The guitarrón is the (acoustic) bass guitar of the Mariachi orchestra. It is sometimes also called guitarrón de Toloche.

The instrument is made like a huge vihuela, so with a high vaulted back and round strips around the edges. It has no frets.

The 6 thick nylon strings are always plucked two (octaves) at the same time. The tuning is A' D G c e A - (notice the top A is lower than the third string).

Picture from a travel brochure, showing the relative size of the vihuela and the guitarrón.

In Argentina exists an instrument which is also called guitarrón, but that is a slightly larger size normal Spanish guitar tuned with the (second string) b as top string, and an extra low 6th B' (so the entire tuning is 5 pitches lower than a normal guitar).

In Chile you can also find a guitarrón, but that is a completely different instrument, with not less than 25 strings ! (see South America).

The guitarra de golpe is the rhythm guitar of the Mariachi orchestra. Although for a while replaced by the normal (spanish) guitar, nowadays it becomes popular again to use the traditional guitarra de golpe.

It seems to have many different names, so you can sometimes find it called a mariachera, or a guitarra colorado, or a quinta colorado or a guitarra quinta or a quinta, or even a jarana.

It is about a 3/4 size guitar, like a vihuela, but it lacks the high vaulted back, as it is made like a normal guitar, with a flat back. It is deeper than a normal guitar. The peghead usually has a very typical carving with a double curve.

The fretboard is almost flush with the front and has metal frets, although some have wooden frets for the first 3 frets.

The 5 nylon strings could be tuned : d g c' e a .

See for more information about the guitarra de golpe : jaliscoharp.

The guitarra doble is the Mexican 12-string guitar, with all strings double - and in unison. It is not very often used anymore (like our 12-string guitar).

See for the more popular Mexican 12-string guitar : the bajo sexto.

This is the 12-string bass guitar used in the Mexican country music, a kind of TexMex. It differs from the guitarro doble by having octave strings in the 3 lower courses, and is tuned a whole octave lower. There is also a bajo quinto, which has 5 double strings - the 6th course is taken away, as apparently it is almost never used on a bajo sexto anyway.

The bajo sexto guitar is made like a normal guitar, with a flat back. Usually it has a cut-out, and decorative extensions to the bridge. Often there is extra decoration around the soundhole and the edge of the body. The fingerboard is raised above the front. It has normal guitar frets.

The tuning is a like a 12-string guitar, but one octave deeper (!), so the lowest stings are really like a bass guitar. The left string of the course is the high octave: EE' AA' dD GG cc ff.

Playing is with a combination of bass notes and strumming to give the rhythm basis for the music.

This is the smaller Spanish guitar, used in the bambuco music style (also called romantico), in a trio including also a Spanish guitar and a standing bass.

The requinto is made just like a 3/4 size Spanish guitar, tuned 5 pitches higher (topstring in a'). The body often has a cut-out to reach the higher frets more easily.

It is used to play the solos, often using a plectrum.

Around Vera Cruz (in South East Mexico) different styles of music are in use. One of them is the son huasteco music. This is played with 3 instruments : the violin, the (big) huapanguera guitar and the small jarana huasteca guitar.

The huapanguera is a normal size guitar, but with a large body and a short nek. It is also called guitarra quinta (which is not a quinta guitarra - that is the guitarra de golpe !).

The huapanguera is made like a guitar (with a body shaped somewhat between a spanish guitar and a jumbo guitar ) with a flat back, and quite deep.

The fingerboard is almost flush with the front, and has 8 to 10 metal (guitar-) frets; it usually stops at the body/neck join.
The bridge (glued to the front) has often some kind of special extensions, like cow horns.

It has usually 8 nylon strings in 5 courses, the 1st and 5th being single, the rest double. A tuning could be : G dd' gg bb e (note the low first string !).

The huapanguera is strummed and provides the bass for the music.

Here the relative size of the two huasteco instruments : the big huapanguera and the small jarana huasteca.

In the son huasteco music style from around Vera Cruz the trio plays besides the violin and the huapanguera guitar, this small size guitar : the jarana huasteca.

The jarana huasteca is made like a small guitar (about the size of a tenor ukulele), with a flat back, and quite deep. The bridge has usually some extension in the shape of cowhorns (like the huapanguera).

The fretboard is slightly raised above the front, and has metal frets. The fretboard usually stops at the body/neck join.

This jarana has 5 nylon strings in the unusual tuning : g b d' f#' a' .

It is played with a special golpe effect.

Around Vera Cruz different styles of music can be found. Besides the huasteca, the son jarocho music is popular. This is played by a small group, with a harp and two different guitars : the requinto jarocho (which plays the bass lines - see under) and the jarana jarocha (which plays the chords).

The jarana jarocha is carved from one piece of wood - so body, neck and tuning head. The body is hollowed out and a thin front glued to it. The fingerboard is a thin layer of dark wood, slightly raised above the front, and there is some veneer on the front of the tuning head. The body shape is often quite slender and it is less deep than a normal guitar. The 12 frets are metal, like on a guitar, and often go no higher than the body/neck join.

The jarana jarocha has 8 nylon strings in 5 courses, of which the 1st and 5th are single. The tuning is : a d'd' gg' bb e' .

There are several sizes of jarana : the smallest is called chaquiste, then the jarana primera or mosquito or chillador; the next one jarana segunda or requinto de jarana, and the largest : jarana tercera or jarana jarocha. They all have 8 strings in 5 courses.

For more information about the son jarocho see sonjarocho.com.     Several sizes jaranas used by the group Mono Blanco

In the son jarocho music style from around Vera Cruz they use (besides the harp and the jarana jarocha) this smaller size guitar : the requinto jarocho. It is also called guitarra de son.

This instrument is made like the jarana jarocha, so the body, neck and tuning head is carved from one piece of wood, and the body is rather shallow. The front is a thin piece of wood; it has a slightly raised fingerboard and veneer on the front of the tuning head. It has 12 or more guitar-like frets (often not higher than the body/neck join).

The requinto jarocho has 4 (or 5) thick nylon strings.
Tuning is : G A d g or C D G c, or (E) A d g c.

It is played with a plectrum made of horn, usually bass lines in a kind of staccato syncopated style, which must be quite difficult to do as the player usually is also the leadsinger of the group.

The requinto jarocho comes in different sizes : the largest is called leon, then the leona, the requinto, etc.   From Loscenzontles.com

For more information about the instruments and music see Comosuena.com (in Spanish).