Cuatro (Venezuela)
Venezuelan Cuatro.
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| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Venezuelan Cuatro |
| Classification | String instrument |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification |
(Composite chordophone) |
| Developed | Venezuela |
| Related instruments | |
| Ukulele, Cavaquinho, Guitar, Bandola (Llanera). | |
The cuatro of Venezuela has four single nylon strings, tuned (ad'f#'b). It is similar in shape and tuning to the ukulele, but their character and playing technique are vastly different. It is tuned in a similar fashion to the traditional D tuning of the ukulele, but the A and B are an octave lower. Consequently, the same fingering can be used to shape the chords, but it produces a different inversion of each chord. A cuatro player is called a cuatrista.
Its 15th-Century ancestor was the Portuguese Cavaquinho. The predecessor of the Venezuelan cuatro is the four-string Spanish guitar which disappeared in the 16th century after a short period of surging popularity. In the 1950s, Fredy Reyna documented the evolution of the renaissance guitar into the current Venezuelan Cuatro, and reinvented the cuatro as a solo instrument, equally capable of rendering traditional Venezuelan music as well as Renaissance pieces. The popularity of the instrument in Venezuela and elsewhere may be due to its apparent simplicity, having only four strings, as well as its compact size.
The design and quality of its construction may vary widely, from rustic, inexpensive instruments, to the custom-built Concert Cuatro, comparable to the finest Classical Guitars. The cuatro is often said to be the Caribbean version of the ukulele (although the cuatro was invented three centuries earlier), having a similar sound, looks, and tuning; and being used in Venezuela, Trinidad, and throughout various other Caribbean spots.
The cuatro is particularly designed for strumming: the fingerboard finishes flush with the top of the instrument, and the upper half of the sound board is often completely covered by a scratch plate made from hardwood.
Most of Venezuelan folkloric music relies on the cuatro as its rhythmic and harmonic base. It is used in most genres of the different regions of Venezuela, such as Joropo in the Llanos, Gaita in Zulia, Galerón in the Oriente or calypso in Trinidad.
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