Guitarrón mexicano
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The guitarrón mexicano (literally "Mexican large guitar" in Spanish, the suffix "-ón" denoting "large") 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.[1]
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[edit] Usage
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.
[edit] Non-traditional uses
- The guitarrón is played by Roy Estrada on the 1966 Mothers of Invention album Freak Out!.
- Randy Meisner of the Eagles also plays the guitarrón on the track "New Kid In Town" from the album Hotel California (1976), although in the credits the instrument is referred to as “guitarone”[2] (a portmanteau of the words guitar and baritone referring to the instrument's tonal range).
- One American player using the guitarrón in a non-traditional context is Aaron Goldsmith, formerly of the New York-based multicultural acoustic ensemble Luminescent Orchestrii; he uses a modified guitarrón with an elongated neck that allows him to play melodically.
- The guitarrón was a defining element of the 1980s Scottish folk-pop band Fairground Attraction, played by member Simon Edwards.
[edit] History
The first guitarrón strings were made out of animal intestines.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Music sheets for guitarrón and other mariachi instruments http://musicaldots.com/
