The Top 5 Musical Instruments of Latin America
17 January, 2020“The most exciting rhythms seem unexpected and complex, the most beautiful melodies simple and inevitable.” ― W.H. Auden
Music is the heart of everything. Without music, the world would not be the same as we know it now. Well, music is not something that only professionals can play, but music is something that is in everything.
The voice of a bird is music, the sound of water flowing is music, the sound of the wind flowing between trees is music, even the sound of a brand new Charter Spectrum being fitted can be music. The only difference in music is the period in which it is played and also the region. So, here, in this list, we will be talking about the most popular musical instruments from Latin America.
La Marimba (Percussion Instrument)
Marimba is a percussion instrument with its origin from Mexico and Guatemala in the late 19th Century. The instruments consist of metal bars struck with yarn or rubber mallets to produce sounds. The shape and size of metal bars differ to create different sounds from each bar. Kept in such a way to resemble a piano, the size of these bars aids the musician physically and visually.
A person playing the marimba is known as Marimbaist or a Marimba Player. The instrument is a type of idiophone but with more variations in pitches than a traditional xylophone. When one end of the instrument is struck, a high-pitched note can be heard while, on the other hand, a not with shallow pitch can be heard. On playing in a synchronizing and the perfect order, one can play a musical tone.
Digital Piano (Percussion Instrument)
This is the most common instrument of all time. Digital Piano with weighted keys belongs to the family of the pianoforte. The instrument works like an ordinary piano except for the fact that it works on electricity with no high-tension strings like in that of a piano. The inclusion of power made the work very simple and even made the instrument able to produce the sound of other instruments too.
Did you know that piano comes with 52 white and 36 black keys, and that they used to be made of sugar pine and later from elephant tusks? Things changed over the years and now they are usually made of plastic, but there are still other interesting materials used as well. Read more about what are piano keys made of at ChordPresso.
El Tres (String Instrument)
A Tres is a musical instrument of the Cuban origin. As stated by Sound Buttons Lab the instrument is of the string family and resembles a Spanish guitar. The most used type of this instrument is the one having six strings. The resemblance with that of a Cuban sound makes is best for playing in Afro-Cuban Genres. The instrument is used in many events in replacement for guitars. Tres players are commonly known as Treseros or Tresistas. If you would like to become a tresero then you may be interested in music lessons in Northvale, New Jersey.
La Antara (Wind Instrument)
Antara is a wind instrument, also known as Siku. Its tradition is from Andean Panpipe and is commonly used is musical genres known as Sikuri. The instrument is not that easy to play, but if played, creates a musical sound.
Its structure resembles that of a flute (bamboo flute), and precisely, more than one flutes glued together vertically to form a new instrument. The pipes are of different lengths and are stuck together in descending or ascending order of their heights. The pipers are tied with one or two strips of cane ties to form a raft lie structure. The configuration of these pipes resembles the keys of a Piano with one tube for the highest pitched note while the other for the lowest-pitched record. On combining sounds from all the tubes in a particular way, a piece of symphonic music can be created.
El Reco-Reco (Percussion Instrument)
Reco-Reco is a percussion instrument of the Brazilian origin. In Latin America, this instrument is also known as Guayo or even Guacharaca. Traditionally, the instrument was made by a hollow wooden piece having cuts on the surface.
When another wooden stick is pressed and moved across the cuts, a musical sound is produced. In the modern version of this instrument, the whole setup is converted into a metal piece where springs act as cuts on the surface. The instrument is played with a small metal rod, just like the traditional version. The modernization resulted in better sound and a higher volume of the musical notes.
Final Verdict
Well, traditional or modern, a musical instrument is a musical instrument, the one which connects a human being to the music, and in this case royalty free Latin music. Although these instruments might be of the old school, they are still widely used and preferred by artists all over the world.
Although some instruments might be old-fashioned, we still have ways to turn them into personalized and one-of-a-kind works of art. When stylish and personalized stickers are widely used by music artists, customizing band stickers for beloved musical instruments is becoming a popular trend. You can use them to decorate your instrument to make them out of old-fashion, and also can stick your stickers on your musical instrument to create unique fun while enjoying the music.
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