The Crucial Importance of Strings for the Charango In this article, I want to share with you an interesting experiment I conducted: changing a set of strings on a high-quality charangón. This experiment highlights how essential it is to have high-quality strings to enhance the tone and sound projection of the charango. The charango is…
If you're wondering how to change the strings on a charango, ronroco, or charangón, you're in the right place. In this guide, I'll explain step-by-step how to perform this operation. Let's see how to do it together. First, consider that changing the strings on these instruments is not technically different from doing so on a…
The tuning of the charango allows for some very interesting and expressive melodic devices. In traditional Andean music, for example, there is an intense use of melodies harmonized in thirds. The melody is often reinforced or even entirely played by dyads at a third interval. Depending on the chords over which the melody moves, this…
Charango chords: Major, Minor, Dominant, Augmented, and Diminished Are you a beginner struggling with basic chords on your charango? Look no further! Introducing a comprehensive PDF guide that showcases the primary chord positions and the most commonly used inversions. This guide features 12 chord charts, one for each key. The chords are written for a…
One of the artists who has greatly contributed to spreading the sound of the charango and Andean music is undoubtedly Gustavo Santaolalla, author of numerous soundtracks (notably the ones for Last of Us, The Motorcycle Diaries, 21 grams ) and of a particular album called Ronroco, where he recorded some of his most famous pieces.…
Aprendiendo con maestros: learning Charango with the masters During a study trip to Bolivia in the spring of 2022, I had the great pleasure of spending a few days in Potosí, where I was invited to play at the Potosí Cuna del Charango festival (by the way, if you want to see the festival video,…
Introduction: how Charango tuning works One of the most distinctive features of the charango is its many strings. In its standard version, it has ten strings, with eight of them paired in unison (producing the same note). Compared to a guitar, it has four more strings, and compared to a ukulele, it has six more.…
One of the most important exponents of the traditional Bolivian charango is undoubtedly Bonny Alberto Terán. Few can boast such a significant career that has made him a reference for the k’alampeado style not only in Bolivia but worldwide. In 2019, he received numerous honors for his 50th year of artistic activity.
Bonny Alberto TeránBonny…
Buying a charango: a practical guide The charango is a widely popular instrument in South America, especially in the Andean states, but finding one abroad can be quite challenging. This might seem paradoxical to those familiar with Bolivia, where instrument production is flourishing. The difficulty in buying a charango stems from several significant obstacles: distance,…
Introduction The charango, a traditional musical instrument native to the Andes, is one of the most important symbols of the culture of this region. Its ancient, exotic and penetrating sound has the power to captivate even those who have never had any contact with its culture of origin. To keep the distinctive character and charm…