List with the musical INSTRUMENTS of COLOMBIA
Despite the fact that musical inventions and artifacts provide us with such a vast area to explore, we managed to find and marvel at the creativity to create new musical instruments, being the human being very skilled in reflecting his own identity in his creations. Being an important part of being, culture manages to see itself reflected in these instruments and this is how we can learn about different artifacts to create sound and their reasons for being.
In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about the musical instruments of Colombia, a South American country that has integrated Spanish, indigenous and African elements in new forms of expression and folk music.
Since Colombia has a great variety of musical instruments, for now we will only mention the best known and most popular.
Treble
It is an instrument of 12 metal strings grouped in 4 groups of 3, which works like a guitar. It comes from the Spanish vihuela, brought during the conquest. It comes from the Andean region. Another similar instrument used in Colombian music is the Four.
Bandola
It is another of the best known Colombian musical instruments. It is also a stringed instrument similar to the guitar, in fact it is usually grouped with the Tiple and the guitar itself, forming the traditional trio of Andean music. Its origin also dates back to Spain.
Sow
Marrana, or rubbing drum, so called, since it is made of animal leather. It's a percussion instrument that is played with a rod.
Bagpipes
The bagpipe is another of the best known Colombian musical instruments. Is a flute of indigenous origin from the Caribbean region. There are different types that vary in number of holes from 2 to 6. It is used in cumbia, merengue, puya and porro music.
Accordion
It's a wind instrument It is also used in various regions of the world. It works by means of a bellows, a folding piece that joins two wooden boxes. The air is contained, pressed and released from within the bellows, creating sound with its vibration as it exits. In the wooden boxes there are buttons to change the notes. It is used frequently in vallenate.
Guacharaca
It is a percussion instrument that is made of reed or tin and is frequently played together with the box and the accordion in the vallenato. It has a piece called a comb, made of wood or wire to scrape the body of the instrument.
Marimba
It is a percussion instrument with tuning. It is similar to the xylophone but its parts are made of wood. Some say that its origin is African while others argue that it is of indigenous Mayan origin.
Drum or bass drum
It is a drum, a percussion instrument with a very deep sound. It is made of wood, rope and leather. Sometimes a stick is used to play. It serves as a rhythmic base and is frequently used in the Pacific area.
Cununo
Another drum-type instrument, which has a conical shape. According to the size it is called male or female. It is usually accompanied with the bass drum, the marimba and the guasá in the rhythms of the Pacific region. He is of African heritage.
Banter
Guasá is another of the most popular Colombian musical instruments. It is a rattle, a percussion instrument made of bamboo, or reed that is filled with seeds.
Harp
Similar to the one we know in classical music, since its origin is Spanish. The Colombian or llanera version is usually made with cedar, pine or other hard wood and has 32 or 33 strings.
Vallenata Box
It is similar to the tambora, and as its name implies, it is used for vallenato. Currently there are two types that include the traditional box made of wood and cowhide, tight with rustic ropes and the modern box, made of wood and leather but stretched with a hoop metal.
Capador
Of indigenous Andean origin, it is the Colombian version of the pan flute. It is a wind instrument that is made of reed, with several tubes of different lengths placed side by side.
It is always interesting to see how needs result in inventions that respond to our aspirations, in this case to expression and cultural art. Now that you know more about the musical instruments of Colombia, you can dedicate yourself to listening to them so that you can identify them more easily.
