cuatros y tiples colombianos.....

by Paul , Monday, December 12, 2022, 15:22 (648 days ago) @ RayLee

The cuatro is four strings, similar to the ukelele. It's a typical instrument of the Colombian and Venezuelan llanos (eastern plains of Colombia, western plains of Venezuela)

This fellow gets a bit carried away, but shows some of the possibilities of the instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAB2WMYHGRI

Indeed the tiple has four groups of three strings. I still remember the first time I saw one and jumped to the conclusion that it was a "12 string guitar", but the confusion at finding four of three instead of six of two quickly ensued. The only way I'm familiar with it is as tuned similar to the four highest toned strings of the typical gitfiddle. The top three groups are tuned with the center string being an octave lower than the outer two. The e string group are tuned all the same.

Here's a typical trio playing a bambuco.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnfJ9rIusys

And for something completely different, try a viola sertaneja from Brazil. Bruna Viola - live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpFolACPhk0