Guitarrón mexicano - Mexican lguitar
Mexican guitar
The guitarron mexicano ("Mexican large guitar") is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. Although obviously similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de uña. It achieves audibility by its great size, and does not require electric amplification for performances in small venues. The guitarrón is fretless with heavy gauge nylon strings. The guitarrón is usually played by doubling notes at the octave, which is facilitated by the unusual tuning of A D G C E A. Sometimes the high A is lowered an octave putting it just one octave above the low A.
The guitarrón was the inspiration behind Ernie Ball's development of the first modern acoustic bass guitar, released on the market in 1972.
The guitarrón is used in Mexican Mariachi groups, which usually consist of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, and a vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar-type instrument), in addition to the guitarrón. A strap is usually used to keep the instrument up and playable. The guitarrón is used in the Mariachi group to keep the other instruments on beat and together. Guitarrón players need to have good left-hand strength to stop the heavy gauge nylon strings of the instrument. The players of the instrument develop calluses on the fingertips of both hands due to the strong vibration of the strings against the skin.
The guitarron mexicano ("Mexican large guitar") is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. Although obviously similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de uña. It achieves audibility by its great size, and does not require electric amplification for performances in small venues. The guitarrón is fretless with heavy gauge nylon strings. The guitarrón is usually played by doubling notes at the octave, which is facilitated by the unusual tuning of A D G C E A. Sometimes the high A is lowered an octave putting it just one octave above the low A.The guitarrón was the inspiration behind Ernie Ball's development of the first modern acoustic bass guitar, released on the market in 1972.
The guitarrón is used in Mexican Mariachi groups, which usually consist of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, and a vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar-type instrument), in addition to the guitarrón. A strap is usually used to keep the instrument up and playable. The guitarrón is used in the Mariachi group to keep the other instruments on beat and together. Guitarrón players need to have good left-hand strength to stop the heavy gauge nylon strings of the instrument. The players of the instrument develop calluses on the fingertips of both hands due to the strong vibration of the strings against the skin.