Requinto
The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are requinto guitars, drums, and several wind instruments.
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[edit] Wind instruments
Requinto was 19th century Spanish for "little clarinet".[1] Today, the word requinto, when used in relation to a clarinet, refers to the E-flat clarinet, also known as requint in Valencian language.[2]
Requinto can also mean a high-pitched flute (akin to a piccolo), or the person who plays it.[3] In Galicia, the word may refer to a wooden fife-like instrument held sideways.
[edit] Small guitar
The requinto guitar has six nylon strings with a scale length of 530 to 540 mm, which is about 18% smaller than a standard guitar scale.
Requintos made in Mexico have a deeper body than a standard classical guitar (110 mm as opposed to 105 mm). Requintos made in Spain tend to be of the same depth as the standard classical. Requinto guitars are also used throughout Latin America.
Requintos are tuned: A-D-G-c-e-a.
The requinto was invented for use in the guitar orchestra, which usually consists of two requintos, two standard guitars, two bajos, and occasionally a bass or two. The bajos and requintos were designed to have a different tuning in relevance to the different tunings of string instruments in the string orchestra. The standard guitar would represent the viola, and in contrast, the requinto represents the violin and the baja represents the cello, whilst the bass is the bass.
[edit] Small drum
The requinto drum is used in the Puerto Rican folk genre plena, wherein it is a small conical hand drum that improvises over the other drum rhythms.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Wessely, J. E.; Gironés (1888). A new pocket dictionary of the English and Spanish languages. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. p. 212. http://books.google.com/books?id=V7wTAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA212.
- ^ Cohen, Richard Scott (2002). The musical society community bands of Valencia, Spain: a global study of their administration, instrumentation, repertoire and performance activities. Alta musica. 23. Schneider. p. 148. ISBN 3795210844.
- ^ "meaning of requinto". SpanishDict. Curiosity Media, Inc.. http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/requinto. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
- ^ "Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena". Smithsonian Global Sound. http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/archives_03.aspx. Retrieved March 10, 2007.[dead link]
[edit] External links
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