Latin » Latin America » Cuatro

In the northern countries of the continent of South America, specifically Venezuela and Colombia, various small, guitar-like instruments have their names derived from the number of strings they possess. Many of these small guitars are quite popular for accompanying songs; they are quite common. Cuatros are the types of guitars that have four strings but each course may contain two or three strings. Some descriptions of cuatros, therefore, include ten strings. In these cases there are undoubtedly similar voicings for the various strings. Other examples of these small, Venezuelan and Colombian guitars include the cinco (five strings), the seis (six strings), the cuatro y medio (four strings with one resonance string), and the cinco y medio (five strings with one resonance string).