The Charango is a double five-stringed traditional instrument from the South American Andes region and is usually accompanied by Quenas (an Andean flute), Panpipes made with reeds, Bombo Leguero (Drum) and Guitar.
To talk about the history and origin of the Charango is a precarious business as it flares up rivalries and nationalistic bias. The other problem that arises, is the fact that no real serious research and studies have been undertaken to understand the true origins of this instrument.
The most popular legend is about how a group of indigenous people witnessed an evening camp of the Spanish having a meal and singing songs with a guitar accompanying them. The witnesses fell in love with the instrument and when they returned to their village, they tried replicating the guitar, creating the first charango.
New studies, however, have found that the most likely candidates for the development of the origin of the charango are the “Vihuela De Mano “ and the “Timple Canario.“
The Vihuela De Mano is a six-string instrument, comprising six sets of strings, five sets of double strings and the final set is one singular string. It was a very popular instrument in the Spanish colonial period.
Timple Canario
The other is the Timple Canario which is a similar size to the Charango and it is a five-string instrument with almost exactly the same tuning used for the Charango. The only difference is the first string on the Charango is tuned to an E, as opposed to the Timple Canario which is tuned to a D.
The date of when the Charango was conceived is unknown, however, the earliest evidence of its existence is recorded in three churches, two in Potosi (Bolivia) and one in Puno (Peru) sculpted in the stones above the entrance of said churches in the 17th century.
By Oscar Carrasco
Luma Creations’ weekly Latin American Music Workshop is led by Oscar Carrasco and aims to give participants an insight and deeper understanding of traditional Latin American instruments, melodies, and rhythms. During these workshops, students have been learning how to play traditional instruments including, the charango, the quena, the bombo leguero and the Spanish guitar.
This workshop is free and takes place every Tuesday at John Archer Hall, Toxteth, in our main workshop space from 5pm to 6pm for ages 7 to 11. If you would like your child(ren) to join this weekly workshop email activities@lumacreations.org for more information.
