Colombian tiple
Encyclopedia
The Colombian tiple
is a small plucked string instrument
of the guitar
family typical of Colombia
where it is usually played as a main instrument or as an accompanying instrument to the guitar.
the word tiple denotes an acute sound (treble). It also defines tiple as guitars of very acute sound, this, however, is contradictory as today's tiple can't be classified as an instrument of acute sound. The term tiple is also considered the Spanish word for treble.
, near San Gil
, Santander
; about some soldiers that deserted
the military after they became melancholic during a night of party. In the story he describes the tiple and how it was used to sing coplas
.
In his references to the tiple Caicedo explains : "In New Granada
we have the tiple and the bandola.They are an imitation of the Spanish vihuela
". In 1923 well known musician Guillermo Uribe Holguin cites Caicedo's writing during a conference in which he criticizes the Colombian tiple as a poorer version of the Spanish guitar by saying "The tiple is a primitive form of the guitar, in other words, is a guitar without the notes E
and A
(...)
In 1951 Bogota
nian musician Jorge Añez cites in his book Canciones y recuerdos (Songs and memories) an observation made by professor Robert Pizano in which he points out that Neogranadine
painter Gregorio Vasquez Ceballos painted some tiples in the hands of angels inside the dome
of the church of Saint Ignace.
Colombian historian priest Jose Ignacio Perdomo Escobar quotes a Jesuit idiom that indicates that by the year 1680 tiples were already sold at stores in the municipality of Topaga
,in the Boyaca Department
. Such idiom was "guitars and tiples sold to multiply the happiness of the good people". This is supported by information found in the archives at the Cathedral of Bogota.
Colombian historian Guillermo Hernandez de Alba gives in 1954 a totally different theory in an article published in El Espectador
of Bogota. "At the Canary Islands
they have a typical small instrument called timple
, it is played as an accompanying instrument...couldn't it be that our tiple is not but the evolution of a Canarian timple?"
Researcher and composer Miguel Angel Martin writes in his book Del Folclor llanero (Folklore
from the eastern plains
) from 1978:"I believe the tiple was brought to us from the Canary Islands and I believe the first tiples were made at the settlements of Tamara, Morcote, Pauto and Tame in the Casanare
".
In 1970 Harry C. Davidson publishes an extensive monograph
about the tiple within his book Diccionario Folclorico de Colombia (Colombian dictionary of folklore). In it Davidson analyzes the concepts expressed by Añez about the paintings in Saint Ignace church and he concludes that there aren't enough sources to accept his theories and then he goes to affirm that "this instrument entered the historic heritage of Colombia at the beginning of the 19th century".
All this theories may indicate that it's very likely that throughout the 19th century the tiple was already part of Colombia's culture. There is no clear conclusion on where in Colombia the tiple first originated since the documentation is sketchy. Nevertheless there is no doubt that the tiple is linked to the Spanish guitar and the timple from the Canary islands.
Today's Colombian tiple is the result of a lengthy modification of guitars brought by the conquistadors to the New World
. Historically it is difficult to say precisely what a tiple is since a number of chordophones have adopted such names over the centuries. There exists also the discrepancies in names given to the same instrument in different parts of Colombia. In his book Cancionero of Antioquia (Chansonnier
of Antioquia) author Antonio Jose Restrepo makes a list of chordophones in which he includes the vihuela, the "cuatro"
(four) which has only four strings, the guitar, the vihuela brava also called bandola and the old tiple of only five strings.
As of today, there isn't much evidence of a tiple of five strings except for references found in historic publications. Whereas the tiple of four strings still exists today and is a popular instrument in Colombia's eastern plains and Venezuela
.
The immediate predecessor of today's Colombian tiple and requinto is the eight strings tiple. This is supported by evidence found among publications from 1868 and 1877 that intended to teach how to play such instruments. They were edited by Jose Eleuterio Suarez, Jose Viteri and Telesforo D'Aleman. The first one of this publications is Metodo facil para aprender los tonos del tiple (Easy method to learn the tones of a tiple) and can currently be found at the Luis Angel Arango
and National Libraries
of Bogota as historic material.
In 1868 Jose Viteri publishes a collection called Metodo completo para aprender a tocar tiple o bandola sin necesidad de maestro (Complete method to learn to play the tiple or bandola without a teacher) in which he explains how at the time some authors used the term bandola and tiple interchangeably.
During the 20th century the tiple goes through changes that gives it its current appearance. The first years of the 20th century the tiple's evolution was still underway and its sounds were still in a state of exploration. It became necessary to add strings in order to keep the harmony of the notes and as a result the tiple was modified with two additional strings resulting in four courses of 2 strings - 3 strings - 3 strings - 2strings
In 1915 writer Santos Cifuentes composes an article titled "Hacia el americanismo musical - La musica en Colombia" (Towards a musical Americanism - Music in Colombia) In it, he mentions the Colombian tiple. Unfamiliar with the instrument Cifuentes points out a couple of flaws, but his writing is of historic value since it explains that the tiple has by this time 12 strings.
The final step towards today's tiple takes place in the switch from a wooden machine head
to a mechanical one with metal gears allowing the player to find the correct tuning
not unlike today's guitars.
A photograph from 1921 reveals the "Colombian Lira" with the shape it is known today. After this time the Colombian tiple maintains its current form but the manufacturing process improves over the years producing better quality tiples reaching a level of high quality such as the ones currently manufactured by Alberto Paredes in Bogota or Carlos Norato and Hernando Guzman in Cali among others around the country.
population of the Viceroyalty of New Granada
where it was looked down upon by the whites of unmixed heritage.
In reference to the social difference between the tiple and the guitar Antonio Jose Restrepo wrote:
In Santander by 1840 the tiple could be found in "third class dances" which were parties for people of lower stock. It was usually played with a tambourine
. It wasn't until Tomas Carrasquilla's
novel Frutos de mi tierra (Fruits of My Land) that the tiple was first mentioned; in it he tells that the tiple was played by every artist whereas the guitars were still being played only at the jockey club in Medellin
.
At the southwestern of Antioquia a small municipality became the first one in the country to include a tiple in its coat of arms. This is the result of many artists from this region who saw the tiple with endearment and embrace it as a symbol of their cultural heritage.
or serenade
s.
. The strings are laid out in 4 courses of 3 steel strings tuned D-G-B-E.
Speaking of playing the tiple, Harry Davidson said:
Tiple
Tiple is the Spanish word for treble or soprano, is often applied to specific instruments, generally to refer to a small chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a tiplista.-Colombian tiple:...
is a small plucked string instrument
Plucked string instrument
Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such as way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate...
of the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
family typical of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
where it is usually played as a main instrument or as an accompanying instrument to the guitar.
Etymology
According to the RAEReal Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
the word tiple denotes an acute sound (treble). It also defines tiple as guitars of very acute sound, this, however, is contradictory as today's tiple can't be classified as an instrument of acute sound. The term tiple is also considered the Spanish word for treble.
History
Little is known about the beginnings of the Colombian tiple and its use in Colombia. The first accounts exist in an article published in 1849 by Jose Caicedo Rojas; in it he narrates a story that takes place in ChitaraqueChitaraque
Chitaraque is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province.-External links:...
, near San Gil
San Gil
San Gil is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia.-Monuments:*Statue of Antonia Santos, one of the great figures of the Colombian Independence Struggle. This sculpture by Colombian artist Oscar Rodríguez Naranjo is located in the main park in San Gil.-External...
, Santander
Santander Department
Santander is a department of Colombia. Santander inherited the name of one of the nine original states of the United States of Colombia. It is located in the central northern part of the country, east of the Magdalena River, bordered to the south and southeast by Boyacá, to the northeast by Norte...
; about some soldiers that deserted
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
the military after they became melancholic during a night of party. In the story he describes the tiple and how it was used to sing coplas
Copla (meter)
The copla is a poetic form of four verses that provides found in many Spanish popular songs as well as in Spanish language literature. There is a related musical genre of the same name. The form is also found widely in Latin America...
.
In his references to the tiple Caicedo explains : "In New Granada
New Granada
New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia.*New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717*Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819...
we have the tiple and the bandola.They are an imitation of the Spanish vihuela
Vihuela
Vihuela is a name given to two different guitar-like string instruments: one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the other, the Mexican vihuela, from 19th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi bands.-History:The vihuela, as it was known...
". In 1923 well known musician Guillermo Uribe Holguin cites Caicedo's writing during a conference in which he criticizes the Colombian tiple as a poorer version of the Spanish guitar by saying "The tiple is a primitive form of the guitar, in other words, is a guitar without the notes E
E (musical note)
E or mi is the third note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle E is approximately 329.628 Hz. See pitch for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.-Designation by octave:...
and A
A (musical note)
La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
(...)
In 1951 Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
nian musician Jorge Añez cites in his book Canciones y recuerdos (Songs and memories) an observation made by professor Robert Pizano in which he points out that Neogranadine
Republic of New Granada
The Republic of New Granada was a centralist republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Ecuador, and Venezuela. It was created after the dissolution in 1830 of Gran Colombia. It was later abolished in 1858 when the Granadine Confederation was...
painter Gregorio Vasquez Ceballos painted some tiples in the hands of angels inside the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
of the church of Saint Ignace.
Colombian historian priest Jose Ignacio Perdomo Escobar quotes a Jesuit idiom that indicates that by the year 1680 tiples were already sold at stores in the municipality of Topaga
Tópaga, Boyacá
Tópaga is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the Sugamuxi Province a subregion of Boyaca....
,in the Boyaca Department
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
. Such idiom was "guitars and tiples sold to multiply the happiness of the good people". This is supported by information found in the archives at the Cathedral of Bogota.
Primary Cathedral of Bogotá
The Archbishopric Cathedral of Bogotá is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at the eastern side of Bolívar Square in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. It is seat of the Archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Mon. Pedro Rubiano Saenz....
Colombian historian Guillermo Hernandez de Alba gives in 1954 a totally different theory in an article published in El Espectador
El Espectador
El Espectador is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá...
of Bogota. "At the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
they have a typical small instrument called timple
Timple
The timple is a traditional Spanish plucked string instrument of the Canary Islands.In La Palma island and in the north of the island of Tenerife, many timple players omit the fifth string, in order to play the timple as a four-string ukulele, though this is considered less traditional by players...
, it is played as an accompanying instrument...couldn't it be that our tiple is not but the evolution of a Canarian timple?"
Researcher and composer Miguel Angel Martin writes in his book Del Folclor llanero (Folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
from the eastern plains
Llanos
The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....
) from 1978:"I believe the tiple was brought to us from the Canary Islands and I believe the first tiples were made at the settlements of Tamara, Morcote, Pauto and Tame in the Casanare
Casanare
* Casanare Department a subdivision of the country of Colombia* Los Llanos del Casanare a province of the Viceroyalty of New Granada* Casanare River a tributary of the Meta River in Colombia* Casanare, Colombia a city in Colombia on the Casanare River...
".
In 1970 Harry C. Davidson publishes an extensive monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
about the tiple within his book Diccionario Folclorico de Colombia (Colombian dictionary of folklore). In it Davidson analyzes the concepts expressed by Añez about the paintings in Saint Ignace church and he concludes that there aren't enough sources to accept his theories and then he goes to affirm that "this instrument entered the historic heritage of Colombia at the beginning of the 19th century".
All this theories may indicate that it's very likely that throughout the 19th century the tiple was already part of Colombia's culture. There is no clear conclusion on where in Colombia the tiple first originated since the documentation is sketchy. Nevertheless there is no doubt that the tiple is linked to the Spanish guitar and the timple from the Canary islands.
Today's Colombian tiple is the result of a lengthy modification of guitars brought by the conquistadors to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. Historically it is difficult to say precisely what a tiple is since a number of chordophones have adopted such names over the centuries. There exists also the discrepancies in names given to the same instrument in different parts of Colombia. In his book Cancionero of Antioquia (Chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
of Antioquia) author Antonio Jose Restrepo makes a list of chordophones in which he includes the vihuela, the "cuatro"
Cuatro (instrument)
The cuatro is any of several Latin American instruments of the guitar or lute family. The cuatro is smaller than a guitar. Cuatro means four in Spanish, although current instruments may have more than four strings....
(four) which has only four strings, the guitar, the vihuela brava also called bandola and the old tiple of only five strings.
As of today, there isn't much evidence of a tiple of five strings except for references found in historic publications. Whereas the tiple of four strings still exists today and is a popular instrument in Colombia's eastern plains and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
The immediate predecessor of today's Colombian tiple and requinto is the eight strings tiple. This is supported by evidence found among publications from 1868 and 1877 that intended to teach how to play such instruments. They were edited by Jose Eleuterio Suarez, Jose Viteri and Telesforo D'Aleman. The first one of this publications is Metodo facil para aprender los tonos del tiple (Easy method to learn the tones of a tiple) and can currently be found at the Luis Angel Arango
Luís Ángel Arango Library
Luis Ángel Arango Library, is a public library located in Bogotá, Colombia. It was founded in 1923 as a small library with a few books on economics. It is currently under the administration of the Bank of the Republic...
and National Libraries
National Library of Colombia
The National Library of Colombia is the national library of Colombia. The library is a dependancy of the Colombian Ministry of Culture.- Founding and history :...
of Bogota as historic material.
In 1868 Jose Viteri publishes a collection called Metodo completo para aprender a tocar tiple o bandola sin necesidad de maestro (Complete method to learn to play the tiple or bandola without a teacher) in which he explains how at the time some authors used the term bandola and tiple interchangeably.
During the 20th century the tiple goes through changes that gives it its current appearance. The first years of the 20th century the tiple's evolution was still underway and its sounds were still in a state of exploration. It became necessary to add strings in order to keep the harmony of the notes and as a result the tiple was modified with two additional strings resulting in four courses of 2 strings - 3 strings - 3 strings - 2strings
In 1915 writer Santos Cifuentes composes an article titled "Hacia el americanismo musical - La musica en Colombia" (Towards a musical Americanism - Music in Colombia) In it, he mentions the Colombian tiple. Unfamiliar with the instrument Cifuentes points out a couple of flaws, but his writing is of historic value since it explains that the tiple has by this time 12 strings.
The final step towards today's tiple takes place in the switch from a wooden machine head
Machine head
A machine head is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses, a geared apparatus for applying tension and thereby tuning a string, usually located at the headstock. A headstock has several machine heads, one per string...
to a mechanical one with metal gears allowing the player to find the correct tuning
Tuning
Tuning can refer to:* Musical tuning, musical systems of tuning, and the act of tuning an instrument or voice** Guitar tunings** Piano tuning, adjusting the pitch of pianos using a tuning fork or a frequency counter* Radio tuning...
not unlike today's guitars.
A photograph from 1921 reveals the "Colombian Lira" with the shape it is known today. After this time the Colombian tiple maintains its current form but the manufacturing process improves over the years producing better quality tiples reaching a level of high quality such as the ones currently manufactured by Alberto Paredes in Bogota or Carlos Norato and Hernando Guzman in Cali among others around the country.
Timeline of the tiple
| Timeline of the Colombian tiple (Click "show" or "hide" to toggle this table) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Image |
| 1502–1550 | Guitars and vihuelas arrive to the New Kingdom of Granada New Kingdom of Granada The New Kingdom of Granada was the name given to a group of 16th century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Audiencia of Bogotá, an area corresponding mainly to modern day Colombia and parts of Venezuela. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of... |
|
| 1542 | The word tiple appears in the American continent Americas The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily... |
|
| 1571 | It is known that there are vihuela Vihuela Vihuela is a name given to two different guitar-like string instruments: one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the other, the Mexican vihuela, from 19th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi bands.-History:The vihuela, as it was known... s in Tunja played by Jorge Voto |
|
| 1585 | The word tiple is printed on the sheet music Sheet music Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens... of the Cathedral of Bogota to designate voices and instruments of an acute sound |
|
| 1645 | Among the instruments of the Jesuit mission in Topaga it is found that vihuelas and discantes are different kind of instruments. | |
| 1746 | The tiple is mentioned for the first time in Popayan to designate a chordophone different from the guitar | |
| 1813–1870 | The tiples are mentioned in numerous literary works | |
| 1818 | The Norato family establishes in the municipality of Chiquinquira as a manufacturer of tiples | |
| 1845 | First pictorial representations of tiples found in watercolors | |
| 1849 | The first article describing a tiple is published. There are three varieties. One with four strings, one with five strings and one with eight strings all of them paired. | |
| 1868 | First learning method published. | |
| 1890–1901 | Tiple continues with eight strings. The bandola adopts its pear-shaped shape. | |
| 1907 | D'Aleman method for learning to play ten and twelve strings is published. | |
| 1915 | The tiple reaches its final configuration with twelve strings | |
| 1916 | First photograph of a tiple with mechanical machine heads. | |
Culture
The tiple is seen now as an instrument more linked to the folklore of rural Colombia where it still remains popular. The tiple had humble beginnings not as an instrument played by the well-to-do but by the people from lower social economic levels.Over time it became more important and finally accepted as an instrument to the level of the guitar which as an instrument has a more extensive heritage and to a degree was seen with more respect. Demographically the tiple was rooted to the mestizoMestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
population of the Viceroyalty of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
where it was looked down upon by the whites of unmixed heritage.
In reference to the social difference between the tiple and the guitar Antonio Jose Restrepo wrote:
-
- But it [the tiple] was pervasive among the bronze-colored people, the ones with working cloth and ruana, [with] a bag plentiful of gossip, [and with] a machete tied to the waist,[with] stick of guasco or verraquillo hanging on the arm, eye of the peasant, [whom is] sometimes barefooted, sometimes with espadrillesEspadrillesEspadrilles are normally casual flat, but sometimes high heeled shoes originating from the Pyrenees. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of rope or rubber material moulded to look like rope. The jute rope sole is the defining characteristic of an espadrille;...
, [with] a hat of cane of iraca that is maliciously tilted to one side, under the brim of a broken crown; it stayed always with them, I say, the fat bellied vihuela, tiple, always in company of the tambourine (in case a party were to take place).
- But it [the tiple] was pervasive among the bronze-colored people, the ones with working cloth and ruana, [with] a bag plentiful of gossip, [and with] a machete tied to the waist,[with] stick of guasco or verraquillo hanging on the arm, eye of the peasant, [whom is] sometimes barefooted, sometimes with espadrilles
In Santander by 1840 the tiple could be found in "third class dances" which were parties for people of lower stock. It was usually played with a tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
. It wasn't until Tomas Carrasquilla's
Tomás Carrasquilla
Tomás Carrasquilla Naranjo was a Colombian writer who lived in the Antioquia region. He dedicated himself to very simple jobs: tailor, secretary of a judge, storekeeper in a mine, and worker of the Ministry of Public Works...
novel Frutos de mi tierra (Fruits of My Land) that the tiple was first mentioned; in it he tells that the tiple was played by every artist whereas the guitars were still being played only at the jockey club in Medellin
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
.
At the southwestern of Antioquia a small municipality became the first one in the country to include a tiple in its coat of arms. This is the result of many artists from this region who saw the tiple with endearment and embrace it as a symbol of their cultural heritage.
Learning
As of today the learning process varies and they are many. Since 1936 some have been published in the form of books or booklets. Many learn to play it from their parents and grandparents as part of a family tradition that in some cases is also a source of income as tiples are popular in triosTrio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
or serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
s.
Description
As a relative of the guitar the Colombian tiple is built with many materials also used for guitars. The sound box for instance is made of walnut tree or cedar. The neck is also made of cedar. The frets are made of red or yellow copper embedded. The strings constitute the main difference between the Colombian tiple and other chordophones and the size of the tiple which is 3/4 of a guitar constitutes the main difference with a twelve string guitarTwelve string guitar
The twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar...
. The strings are laid out in 4 courses of 3 steel strings tuned D-G-B-E.
| Tiple strings layout (Click "show" or "hide" to toggle this table) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | Sound | Approx Diameter | ||
| inches | millimeters | |||
| a.First course | 3 steel strings | E' | 0.009 to 0.012 | 0.229 to 0.305 |
| b.Second course | 2 steel strings on sides | B' | 0.007 to 0.008 | 0.168 to 0.203 |
| 1 central copper | ||||
| or halfwound strings | B | 0.018 | 0.457 | |
| c.Third course | 2 steel string on sides | G' | 0.008 to 0.010 | 0.203 to 0.254 |
| 1 central copper | ||||
| or halfwound string | G | 0.020 | 0.58 | |
| d.Fourth course | 2 steel sides | D' | 0.010 to 0.014 | 0.254 to 0.356 |
| center halfwound string | D | 0.025 | 0.635 | |
Tuning
Today's Colombian tiple corresponds to musical requirements and they are said to be tuned in C, nevertheless sometimes they are unable to go all the way up to B therefore they are tuned to a lower note, either in B or B-flat.Playing a Colombian tiple
As with most chordophones of the guitar family, the Colombian tiple can be played either by strumming or with a plectrum or a combination of both.Speaking of playing the tiple, Harry Davidson said: