The tessitura, the tuning, the sound of this Ronroco is the same as the famous Gustavo Santaolalla.Characteristics: Sound box: White Pine Finger board: Jacaranda Type of wood: Caoba Soundhole: Special Strings: Nylon Tuning pins: Metallic Bridge: Jacaranda Tuning: From low to high notes: Santaolalla type Aprox.size Length: 66 cm (25.98") Width: 18 cm (7.08")
There are many stories of how the charango came to be made with it's distinctive armadillo sound box. One story says that the native musicians liked the sound the vihuela (an ancestor of the Classical Guitar) made, but lacked the technology to shape the wood in that manner. Another story says that the Spaniards prohibited natives from practicing their ancestral music, and that the charango was a (successful) attempt to make a lute that could be easily hidden under a garment. It is believed the charango originated in the 18th century Andes somewhere in modern-day Potosí, Bolivia, probably from Amerindian contact with Spanish settlers.
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