Cuatro (Instrument)

The Cuatro is a small four-string ( cuatro (Spanish ) = four ) guitar in the north of South America (Venezuela, Colombia) is played.

In Venezuela, the cuatro is widely used, and to learn to play the instrument is in many schools a compulsory subject. The Cuatro is about 80 cm long, of which the neck occupies about 45 cm. The body is about 25 cm wide and 10 cm deep. It is played with fast rhythmic strokes and rarely plucked.

Typical rhythms are the Vals and the Joropo. Due to the rhythmic beats, Cuatro takes over functions of percussion.

Cuatro is tuned like a ukulele, with respect to this sound, the 1st and 4th string but an octave lower, so either g - c'- e' -a or a- d'- fis' -h.

In Puerto Rico and the mainland

The game played in the salsa musicians such as Yomo Toro Cuatro is significantly larger and has an almost violin -shaped body. As the Cuban Tres, it has double strings - and five. The name cuatro goes here on the mood, the Cuatro is in fourths vote ( HEADG ).

In addition to this modern instrument there is a variant with four pairs of strings, Tres Puntos, and various older forms: Tulipán, Antiguo and Higuera.