Editing Charango

{{Short description|Small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family}}
{{About|the musical instrument|the Morcheeba album|Charango (album)|the Spanish band|Txarango}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name           = Charango
| names          = Quirquincho, Mulita, Tatu, Kirki
| image          = Bolivian charango 001.jpg
| image_capt     = A modern charango
| background     = string
| hornbostel_sachs = 321.321-5
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Composite [[chordophone]] sounded by the [[pizzicato|bare fingers]]
| developed      = Early 18th century (perhaps earlier)
| range          = <div align=center> E4 - (G6)</div>
[[Image:Charango tuning v2.svg|130px|center]] <div align=center>Charango tuning (Am7/E)</div>
| related        = [[Walaycho]]; [[Chillador]]; Ronroco; ''et al'' (see text). [[Concheras]] (also has armadillo back)
}}

The '''charango''' is a small [[Andes|Andean]] [[stringed instrument]] of the [[lute]] family, from the [[Quechua people|Quechua]] and [[Aymara people|Aymara]] populations in the territory of the [[Altiplano]] in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during colonization. The instrument is widespread throughout the Andean regions of [[Bolivia]], [[Peru]], [[Ecuador]], northern [[Chile]] and northwestern [[Argentina]], where it is a popular musical instrument that exists in many variant forms.<ref name="charango">{{cite web|url=http://www.charango.cl/paginas/encuentros.htm|title=ORIGEN DEL CHARANGO|publisher=charango.cl|access-date=2014-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107101631/http://www.charango.cl/paginas/encuentros.htm|archive-date=2015-01-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>

About {{convert|66|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, the charango was traditionally made with the shell from the back of an [[armadillo]] (called ''quirquincho'' or ''mulita'' in South American Spanish),<ref name="1uu" /><ref name="2uu" /> but it can also be made of wood, which some believe to be a better resonator.  Wood is more commonly used in modern instruments.<ref name="1uu">{{cite web|url=http://www.charango.cl/paginas/cualidad.htm|title=Todo acerca del Charango|publisher=charango.cl|access-date=2014-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922142625/http://charango.cl/paginas/cualidad.htm|archive-date=2014-09-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> Charangos for children may also be made from [[Lagenaria siceraria|calabash]].<ref name="2uu">{{cite web|url=http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Familia_de_los_charangos.htm|title=Familia de los charangos|publisher=jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com|access-date=2014-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426235333/http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Familia_de_los_charangos.htm|archive-date=2006-04-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many contemporary charangos are now made with different types of wood. It typically has ten strings in five [[course (music)|courses]] of two strings each, but many other variations exist.

The charango was primarily played in traditional [[Andean music]]. A charango player is called a ''charanguista''.

==History==
[[Image:Cuna del charango.jpg|thumb|A sign in [[Potosi, Bolivia]], in the style of a charango with the words 'Cuna del Charango' (Birthplace of the Charango).]]
[[Image:210 Museu de la Música, el Bosc, charango.jpg|A traditional charango made of ''armadillo'', today superseded by wooden charangos, in [[Museu de la Música de Barcelona]]|thumb]]

When the Spanish [[conquistador]]s came to South America, they brought the [[vihuela]] (an ancestor of the classical guitar) with them. It is not clear whether the charango is a direct descendant of a particular Spanish stringed instrument; it may have evolved from the vihuela, [[bandurria]] ([[mandolin]]), or the [[lute]]. [[Ernesto Cavour]], [[Bolivia]]n charanguista, composer, and consulting music historian for many museums around the world,<ref>[[:es:Ernesto Cavour]]{{Circular reference|date=April 2019}}</ref> has noted characteristics of the charango in various vihuelas and guitars of the 16th century, and maintains the charango is the direct descendant of the vihuela.<ref name=cavour>{{cite web |url=http://www.puebloindio.org/Historia_del_charango.html |last=Cavour |first=Ernesto A. |title=Historia del charango |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523023030/http://www.puebloindio.org/Historia_del_charango.html |archive-date=23 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are many stories of how the charango came to be made with its distinctive diminutive soundbox of armadillo. One story says that the native musicians liked the sound the vihuela made, but lacked the technology to shape the wood in that manner. Another story says that the Spaniards prohibited natives from practicing their ancestral music, and that the charango was a successful attempt to make a lute that could be easily hidden under a garment such as a [[poncho]].<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Creating Our Own: Folklore, Performance, and Identity in Cuzco, Peru|author=Mendoza, Z.S.|date=2008|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822341529|url=https://archive.org/details/creatingourownfo00zoil|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/creatingourownfo00zoil/page/97 97]|access-date=2014-10-16}}</ref>

There is no clear evidence that points to a specific location or moment in time for the birth of the charango but there are a number of theories being debated. One of those is that it is believed the charango came into its present form in the early 18th century in the city of [[Potosí]] in the [[Royal Audiencia of Charcas]] part of the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]] (in what is present-day [[Bolivia]]), probably from [[Amerindian]] contact with [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish settlers]].  Cavour presents evidence from Bolivian murals and sculptures as early as 1744, in, for example, the Church of San Lorenzo of the city of Potos (Potosí), the facade of which depicts two mermaids playing what he believes to be charangos.<ref name=cavour/>

Another two theories that are being researched are that the Charango originally came to Potosí from the Ayacucho region in colonial Peru as a result of migration within the Quechua populations. This suggests that the charango originated in the territory of what is now Peru via cultural exchange and then spread to the rest of the Andean area. This theory has not been proven either.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jornada.com.pe/cultural/6683-ayacucho-cuna-del-charango |title='Ayacucho, Cuna del Charango' |access-date=2018-05-06 |archive-date=2018-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507085254/http://www.jornada.com.pe/cultural/6683-ayacucho-cuna-del-charango |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because the modern states of Peru and [[Bolivia]] had not yet been established at the time, it is difficult to trace the charango's origin to a specific country, and the issue remains highly debated among nationalists from both countries.

One Bolivian musician has posited a third theory which is that the Charango was created as a variant of the [[timple]] canario from the Canary islands. More research however is required{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}.

The first published historic information on the charango may be that gathered by Vega, going back to 1814, when a cleric from Tupiza documented that "the Indians used with much enthusiasm the guitarrillos mui fuis... around here in the Andes of [[Bolivia]] they called them Charangos".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hvsAAAAMAAJ&q=charango+guitarrillos+mui+fuis|title=Historia musical de Bolivia|access-date=6 May 2015|last1=Gainza|first1=José Díaz|year=1988}}</ref>  Turino mentions that he found carved sirens representing playing charangos in some Colonial churches in the highlands of Bolivia.<ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=World Music: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific|author1=Broughton, S.|author2=Ellingham, M.|author3=Trillo, R.|date=1999|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781858286365|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo/page/278 278]|access-date=2014-10-16}}</ref>  One of the churches to which Turino refers may well be that mentioned by Cavour; construction on the San Lorenzo edifice began in 1547 and wasn't completed until 1744.<ref name=cavour/>

According to [[Eduardo Carrasco]] of [[Quilapayún]], in the first week after the [[1973 Chilean coup d'etat]], the military organized a meeting with folk musicians where it was explained that the traditional instruments charango and [[quena]] were now banned.<ref name=Morris>Morris, Nancy. 1986. Canto Porque es Necesario Cantar: The New Song Movement in Chile, 1973–1983. ''[[Latin American Research Review]]'', Vol. 21, pp. 117-136.</ref>

===Etymology===

[[File:Horniman_instruments_06.jpg|thumb|Charango in the Horniman museum, London, UK.]]
The origin of the term "charango" is not entirely clear.  One source suggests that the instrument took its name from its players, who were called ''charangeros'', meaning "someone of questionable character and low morals".<ref>{{cite book |last=Candaleria |first=Cordelia |title=Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture, Volume I |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |location=Westport |year=2004 |page=427}}</ref> Another traces the term to the alteration of a Spanish term, ''charanga'', which could refer to either a type of military music played on wind instruments, or an out-of-tune orchestra.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Machpherson |editor-first=A. |title=Webster's Etymological Dictionary |publisher=Ulan Press |location=Rochester |year=2012}}</ref> Charanguista Alfredo Coca, offers yet a third theory:  asserting that "charango" comes from a Spanish corruption of the Quechua word “Chajwaku”, which means joy, noisy, boisterous, referring directly to the sound of the charango.  As support for this he points to the common practice of the Conquistadors appropriating local terminology.

Charanguista [[Ernesto Cavour]] disagrees, and tends to support the second origin, maintaining that the word “charango” comes from a mispronunciation of the Spanish word “charanga”, meaning "brass band" (a reasonable corollary to 'military music played on wind instruments').<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cocha-banner.org/issues/2012/may/long/ |title=Long Live the Charango! |access-date=2016-08-15 |archive-date=2016-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826124102/http://www.cocha-banner.org/issues/2012/may/long/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

One of the most complete contemporary statements on the origin of the term "charango" appears in the introduction to Duran and Pedrotti's, ''Charango Method'', ostensibly the first complete, bilingual charango method to be published:

:"Charango" in an Ibero-American colonial term that refers to a series of Spanish-American cultural concepts related to "noise" and rustically constructed objects.  The term "charanga", for example, was often used to refer to a small instrumental band.  "Charanguero", meanwhile, denoted something rough or rustic.  In his book ''El charango, su vida, costumbres y desaventuras'', Ernesto Cavour has collected a large amount of information regarding the etymology of the word "charango".  As this author related:
:::"In the rural areas of Andean Bolivia, the instrument is not only known by the name "charango", but by many others as well, including:  mediana, guitarrilla, thalachi, quirqui, p'alta, khonkhota, aiquileno, guitarron, anzaldeno, etc. ..."
:An Uruguan publication from 1823 uses the term "changango" as a synonym for the Argentine "charango", and claims the same word was used during the eighteenth century to refer to old and poorly constructed guitars:
:::"...In Argentina they speak of the Charango, a guitar with five doubled strings and a body made from the shell of an Armadillo.  Nevertheless, the small Spanish-American guitar has been known by the name changango for more than one hundred years.  In a footnote to his correspondence with [[Paulino Lucero]] regarding the [[Great War]], Hilario Ascasubi explains this situation with indisputable clarity:  "Changango: an old, poorly made guitar".
:::(Excerpt from the newspaper "El Domador", Montecivideo, 19 March 1823).
:Julio Mendivil engages in a similarly detailed discussion of this issue in his article ''La construccion de la historia:  el charango en la memoria colectiva mestiza ayacuchana'', Musicology Institut/University of Colonia."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duran |first1=Horatio |last2=Pedrotti |first2=Italo |title=Charango Method |publisher=Mel Bay Publications |location=Pacific, MO |year=2010}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2017}}

==Construction==
[[Image:Parts of the Charango 1.jpg|thumbnail|283px|Designation of the parts of the charango]]
Traditionally a charango was made with a dried [[armadillo]] shell for the back and wood for the soundbox top, neck etc. While still common, this is no longer the norm: rather they are now typically made of wood, with the bowled back merely imitating the shape of the armadillo shell. Unlike most wooden lutes, the body and neck are typically made of a single block of wood, carved into shape. The charango's ten strings require quite a large headstock, often approaching or even exceeding the size of its diminutive sound box. Aside from these visual distinctions, it resembles something between a bowl-backed mandolin and a small [[ukulele]].

The overall length of a typical charango is about {{convert|66|cm}}, with a string scale length of about {{convert|37|cm}}. The number of frets ranges from five to eighteen. The most common form of the instrument has ten strings of nylon, gut, or (less commonly) metal.  (Variant forms of the charango may have anywhere from four to fifteen strings, in various combinations of single, double, or triple [[course (music)|courses]].)  The body generally has a narrowed ''waist'', reminiscent of the guitar family, and not the pear-shape of the lute.  There are many minor variations in the shape of the body and soundboard (top), and many different kinds of wood are used, although, like guitars, the preferred [[tone wood]]s for the top come from the cedar or spruce families. Old instruments had friction-style tuning pegs (similar to those used on violins), but today a classical guitar style peghead with geared "machine" tuners is the norm, though these are occasionally positioned perpendicular to the headstock.  Most instruments include some degree of ornamentation, which may range from simple purfling inlays around the perimeter of the top, to elaborately carved headstocks, and whole scenes engraved, carved, or burned into the back of the body.  Strap buttons are sometimes added, as are position marker dots on the fingerboard.

Variations may include a separate glued-on neck, a two-piece top plate of contrasting woods, old-style friction tuning pegs in [[palisander]] or [[ebony]], guitar-style box construction, or even a hollowed-out neck.  The size, shape, and number of soundholes is highly variable and may be a single round or oval hole, dual crescents, or even multiple holes of varying arrangement.  Another variant is a neck with two holes bored 3/4 of the way through, parallel to the fretboard and close to the headstock (an innovation said to color the instrument's tone).{{Dubious|date=March 2015}}{{Citation needed|reason=Source of the information concerning these holes? Have seen and played dozens of charangos, but never any with holes bored in the neck.|date=March 2015}}

More recently solid-body electric and hollow-body acoustic-electric charangos have become available. The solid-body instruments are built very much as miniature electric guitars, whereas the acoustic-electrics are usually a standard acoustic charango with the addition of a [[contact microphone]] or [[piezoelectric]] [[pickup (music technology)|pickup]] to run the output of the instrument through an amplifier.

In his book ''[[The Motorcycle Diaries (book)|The Motorcycle Diaries]]'', Che Guevara described a charango he saw near [[Temuco]], Chile, in 1952. It was "made with three or four wires some two meters in length stretched tightly across tins fixed to a board. The musician uses a kind of metal knuckle duster with which he plucks the wires producing a sound like a toy guitar."<ref>The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey. by Ernesto Che Guevara. Ocean Press. 2003. {{ISBN|1-876175-70-2}}</ref>

==Tuning==
The basic charango has five pairs (or courses) of strings, typically tuned GCEAE. This tuning, disregarding octaves, is similar to the typical C-tuning of the [[ukulele]] or the Venezuelan [[Cuatro (instrument)|cuatro]], with the addition of a second E-course. Unlike most other stringed instruments, all ten strings are tuned inside one octave. The five courses are pitched as follows (from 5th to 1st course): G4 G4 - C5 C5 - E5 E4 - A4 A4 -E5 E5. Some ''charanguistas'' use "octave" strings on other pairs in addition to the middle course. Note that the lowest pitch is the "E" string in the middle (3rd) course, preceded by the higher pitched "g" (5th) course and "c" (4th) course, and followed by still higher pitched "a" (2nd) course and "e" (1st) courses. This tuning pattern is known as a [[Reentrant tuning|re-entrant]] pattern because the pitches of the strings do not rise steadily from one string or course to the next, but progress from high to low and then back to high pitch again.

[[Image:Charango player.jpg|right|260px|thumb|A charango player.]]

The ramifications of the charango tuning are that there is a very narrow tonal range in most chords, often with many pitch duplications, which produces a surprisingly powerful sound from the small instrument. Seventh and ninth chords shimmer more than on a guitar due to the close harmonies. In terms of melody playing, the ''charanguista'' can create a harp-like sound with close intervals ringing out (i.e., like a piano with the sustain pedal engaged). With the close pitch spacing across strings (intervals like 2nds), a simple alternating finger-style pattern in the right hand can produce very rapid chromatic and diatonic runs with only minimal movement of the left hand on the fingerboard.  This makes the charango an extremely agile melodic instrument, especially when compared to instruments traditionally played with a [[Plectrum|flat pick]].

As with any stringed instrument, tunings for the charango may vary, but the "standardized" tunings most commonly used (for the 10-stringed, five-course version) are:
[[Image:Charango tuning v2.svg|thumb|Charango tuning (Am7)]]
[[File:Charango - cuerdas al aire.ogg|thumb|Notes of charango.]]

{| class="wikitable"
! Course !! Am7 tuning !! Comments
|-
| 5 || G4 G4   (391.99&nbsp;Hz, above middle C) || 2nd lowest tone, nearest the face
|-
| 4 || C5 C5   (523.25&nbsp;Hz) || "C" above Middle C
|-
| 3 || E5 E4   (659.26&nbsp;Hz, 329.63&nbsp;Hz) || Strings are tuned an octave apart
|-
| 2 || A4 A4   (440.00&nbsp;Hz) || "A" above Middle C
|-
| 1 ||  E5 E5  (659.26&nbsp;Hz) || Highest tone, nearest the floor
|}

G#m7 and Gm7 tunings are achieved by tuning a semitone or a full step down, respectively. Em7 is achieved by tuning down by a [[perfect fourth]].

==Types==
There are metal string, nylon/gut string, and mixed-string charangos. Some metal-stringed versions have all strings at the same gauge. There are also solid-body electric charangos.

There are many types of charango. In many cases the variant is named for the town or region in which it originated, or in which it is most frequently seen, ''e.g.'', the ''Charango Ayquileño'' of Ayquile, Bolivia. The number of strings on these variant instruments ranges from four to 20, and courses may be single, double, triple, or quadruple strung. (The standard charango has 10 strings in five courses of two strings each.)<ref>''Asociación Internacional del Charango'' (Spanish)|{{cite web|url=http://www.aicharango.org/portal/index.php |title=Asociación Internacional del Charango |access-date=2013-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202039/http://www.aicharango.org/portal/index.php |archive-date=2013-10-29 }}</ref>

Some types of charango are:
[[Image:Walaycho.jpg|175px|thumb|Walaycho]]

[[Image:Chillador. Bueno, Cuzco (Perú). MDMB 825.JPG|100px|thumb|A 12-string chillador]]
* '''[[Walaycho]]''' (also ''hualaycho'', ''maulincho'', or '' kalampiador''):  a smaller relative, with a scale typically around {{convert|30|cm}} long.  It has ten strings, which may be of metal, nylon, or nylon fishing line, arranged in five courses of two strings each. Despite the short scale, the headstock must still accommodate ten tuners, which increases the total length of the instrument by nearly a third&nbsp;— ca. {{convert|56|cm}} is typical. Usually tuned a ''fifth higher'' (sometimes a fourth higher) than the charango, strings in the third (center) course may be either in unison or in octaves.
* '''[[charangon|Charangón]]''':  (also ''charangone''){{citation needed|date=June 2023|reason=attestation of alternate name?}} a larger relative, in effect, a tenor charango.  About {{convert|75|cm}} long by {{convert|22|cm}} wide with a {{convert|42|-|51|cm|adj=on}} scale. It was invented by Mauro Nuñez. Tunings vary, with the most common being a ''fourth lower'' than the charango (Argentine tuning) or a ''fifth lower'' (Bolivian tuning).  It is occasionally tuned an octave lower than the charango, but such lower pitches are more usually reserved for the ronroco.<ref>Rosa, Jose; ''The history of music from Cuba, the Caribbean, South America and the United States''; Contemporary Latin Music Educators; Southwest Ranches, Florida:  2008.  p.68</ref>
* '''[[Ronroco]]''' (also ''ronrroco''): a still larger relative, essentially a baritone or bass charango, about {{convert|80|cm}} long with a {{convert|46|-|50|cm|adj=on}} scale. It is a charangón named Ronroco by [[Los Kjarkas|Gonzalo Hermosa]],  of the group [[Los Kjarkas]] from Cochabamba, Bolivia, in the 1980s. Ten nylon strings are arranged in five double courses. As with the ''charangón'' tunings vary, and depending on region and use the ronroco may be tuned a ''fourth lower'' than the charango (Argentine tuning); a ''fifth lower'' (Bolivia; Chile); or an octave lower ("Bolivian tuning").  The octave lower tuning is better acoustically supported by the larger body of the ronroco, and is more common on this instrument than on the charangón.  The strings of the third (center) course are tuned an octave apart; strings in the other courses are usually tuned in unisons, though occasionally the fourth or fifth courses (or both) may be tuned in octaves.  When courses four and five are doubled at the ''lower'' octave the ronroco is essentially no longer in reentrant tuning.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.guitar-learning.com/node/208 |title=A Guitarist's Choice To Play The Ronroco (baritone charango) |access-date=2015-03-12 |archive-date=2015-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129051337/http://www.guitar-learning.com/node/208 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''[[Chillador]]''': The name chillador can refer either to two related types of charango. The first is a standardly-tuned charango but with a body built from bent sides and a flat back like a (smaller) guitar,<ref>http://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/south_america.htm#bolivia South America ATLAS of Plucked Instruments</ref><ref>https://stringedinstrumentdatabase.aornis.com/c.htm The Stringed Instrument Database: C</ref> The second is a type that has a flat back and is usually steel-strung. It exists in both 10- and 12-string forms.  When strung with ten strings in five courses it is tuned the same as a charango.  With 12 strings, courses two and four are triple-strung, and the (re-entrant) tuning is more like that of a charangone or ronroco in Argentine tuning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charangoperu.com/charangoperu/contenido/articulos/chillador_antiplano2.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421060508/http://www.charangoperu.com/charangoperu/contenido/articulos/chillador_antiplano2.php|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 21, 2011|title=Charangoperu.com :: El portal del Charango Peruano|access-date=6 May 2015}}</ref>
* The '''[[Hatun charango|Hatun Charango]]''' or "grand charango" is an extended-range charango developed in [[Peru]] in the modern era. It has either seven or eight strings, all set in single string courses except for the third course, which is double-strung. It is tuned (A3) • D4 • G4 • C5 • E5 E4 • A4 • E5<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.federico-tarazona.com/thehatuncharango.html |title=Federico Tarazona - The Hatun charango |author=claire charberet |access-date=6 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402232808/http://www.federico-tarazona.com/thehatuncharango.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref>

Other, less common members of the charango family include:
* '''Ayacucho''':  A small guitar-style charango (flat back) usually made of plywood, with six strings in five courses, strung 1-1-2-1-1. Smaller than the charango, but not as small as the walyacho, it is tuned like the charango, with the strings of the doubled course in octaves.<ref name="charangoperu.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.charangoperu.com/charangoperu/contenido/articulos/charangoperuano.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127231819/http://www.charangoperu.com/charangoperu/contenido/articulos/charangoperuano.php|url-status=usurped|archive-date=January 27, 2012|title=Charangoperu.com :: Mapa del Charango Peruano|access-date=6 May 2015}}</ref>
* '''Bajo charango''':  A large bass instrument, more guitar-like than charango-like, it was invented by luthier Mauro Nunez in the region of Cochabamba.  It is about {{convert|1.5|m}} long, with a scale of {{convert|87|cm}}, and the large resonating body is usually made of plywood. Six strings in five courses (1-1-2-1-1-) are typically tuned:  B • E • B • G • D, with the third (center) course in octaves. It sounds two octaves lower than the charango, and is written as a transposing instrument, with parts notated a 4th higher than they actually sound.<ref name="Familia de los charangos">{{cite web|url=http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Familia_de_los_charangos.htm|title=Familia de los charangos|access-date=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426235333/http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Familia_de_los_charangos.htm|archive-date=26 April 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''Charango mediano''' or ''mediana'' ("medium" charango):  a rural instrument that varies widely in size:  from {{convert|50|to|95|cm}}, with scales ranging from {{convert|33|to|65|cm}}. It has ten strings in five courses, and is usually tuned an octave below the charango.<ref name="Familia de los charangos" />
* '''Khonkhota''' (also ''jitarron'' or ''pomputu''):  A rustic instrument of the rural regions of Cochabamba, Oruro, and Potosí. Its soundbox is made of plywood, and it has only five frets. The total length is {{convert|90|cm}}, with a {{convert|65|cm|adj=on}} scale. It has eight strings in five courses (2-2-1-1-2); the doubled courses are all unison doublings. Tunings vary, with a common choice being E-A-D-B-C.<ref name="Familia de los charangos"/>
* '''Moquegua''':  Charango with 20 strings arranged in five courses of four strings each. Tuning is like the standard charango with the third (central) course using octave doublings.<ref name="charangoperu.com"/><ref name="youtube">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoOlVY-1nk&nofeather=True| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301153734/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoOlVY-1nk&nofeather=True| archive-date=2014-03-01 | url-status=dead|title=charango moquegua (charango de 20 cuerdas) - YouTube|publisher=youtube.com|access-date=2014-10-16}}</ref>
* '''Pampeno''' (also ''Arequipeño''):  Another rustic, guitar-style, plywood charango used in the Arequipa region of Peru. It's 15 metal strings, triple strung in Five courses, are tuned: C# - F# - C# - A - E, with the third (middle) course in octaves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charangoperu.com/charangoperu/contenido/portal/Pagina%203.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421060711/http://www.charangoperu.com/charangoperu/contenido/portal/Pagina%203.php|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 21, 2011|title=Charangoperu.com :: El portal del Charango Peruano|access-date=6 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="youtube2">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/dgi6QaNxc6M Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140301165403/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgi6QaNxc6M&nofeather=True Wayback Machine]}}{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgi6QaNxc6M&nofeather=True|title=CHARANGO AREQUIPEÑO(PAMPEÑO) - YouTube|publisher=youtube.com|access-date=2014-10-16}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* '''Shrieker''':  An instrument from the South of the Peru similar to the walaycho, made of wood or armadillo. Typically less than {{convert|30|cm}} long, it differs from the walaycho in having 12 strings, usually metal, in five courses; the second and fourth courses are triple-strung. Tuning is the same as for the walyacho.<ref name=finslab>{{cite web|url=http://finslab.com/enciclopedia/letra-c/charango.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143122/http://finslab.com/enciclopedia/letra-c/charango.php|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead|lang=pt|title=Charango|website=finslab.com}}</ref>
* '''Sonko''':  A large heart-shaped instrument with 13 (and sometimes more) strings. It is a fairly recent development, first designed in the 1970s, by Gerardo Yañez.<ref name="gerardoyanez">{{cite web|url=http://www.gerardoyanez.com/instrumentos/sonko-charango/|title=Sonko Charango - Gerardo Yañez Sarmiento|publisher=gerardoyanez.com|access-date=2014-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022090650/http://www.gerardoyanez.com/instrumentos/sonko-charango/|archive-date=2014-10-22|url-status=dead}}</ref>  It has not yet acquired a standard tuning.
* '''Vallegrandino''':  Named for the town of its origin, Vallegrande, Bolivia, this charango is about {{convert|50|cm}} long, with a scale of {{convert|33|cm}}, and has six strings in four courses: 1 - 2 -2 -1. Tuning is A-E-C-G.<ref name=finslab/>

As one of the most popular stringed instruments in regions along the Andes, countless other regional variations of the charango exist, for example:
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* ''charango Anzaldeño''
* ''charango Ayquileño''
* ''charango asimétrico''
* ''charango diablo'' ("devil" charango)
* ''charango de juguete'' ("toy" charango)
* ''charango kirki''
* ''charango Layme''
* ''charango p´alta'' ("crushed" charango)
* ''charango de pukarillo'' ("chojllo-chojllo" charango)
* ''charango Sacabeño''
* ''charango uñanchay''
* ''guitarrilla'' ("chilin chilin")
* ''jitara''
* ''k´ullu charango''
* ''maulincho'' (tilisito)
* ''[[manguerito]]''
* ''muyu muyu''
* ''p´ala-p´ulu''
* ''putu charango''
* ''Soncoy charango''
* ''tajlachi'' (in three sizes)
}}

Several hybrids of charango with other instruments have also been made, for example:  ''charanquena'' (charango and [[quena]]); ''charansicu'' (charango and [[zampoña]]); and ''charango charanguita'' (charango and [[guitar]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Familia_de_los_charangos.htm |title=The Chagango Family (Spanish) |access-date=2004-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426235333/http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Familia_de_los_charangos.htm |archive-date=2006-04-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Names==
The charango is known by different names in various regions of the [[Andes]]. A few include:
*''Mulita'' y ''tatu'' (in [[Argentina]])
*''Kirkinchu'' (sometimes "quirquinchu") and ''kirki'' (in [[Bolivia]] and [[Peru]])
*''Quinquela'' (in [[Bolivia]])

There are also many dialect variants of these terms.

==Notable players==
*[[Ernesto Cavour]], Bolivian musician
*[[Mauro Nuñez]]
*[[Eddy Navia]], Potosí, Bolivia
* [[Los Kjarkas|Gonzalo Hermosa]], Bolivian musician, [[Los Kjarkas]] co-founder, inventor of the ronroco<ref name="Los Kjarkas - Historia">{{Cite web |url=http://www.loskjarkas.com.bo/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=100 |title=Los Kjarkas - Historia |access-date=2017-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224151053/http://www.loskjarkas.com.bo/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=100 |archive-date=2017-12-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Los Kjarkas|Ulises Hermosa]], Bolivian musician, [[Los Kjarkas]] co-founder<ref name="Los Kjarkas - Historia"/>
* [[Julio Lavayen]], charanguista, arranger and composer; first charanguista of Los Kjarka;  Cochabamba, Bolivia<ref name="Los Kjarkas - Historia"/>
* [[Patricio Castillo (folk musician)|Patricio Castillo]], Chilean musician, [[Quilapayún]] member.<ref name="Patricio Castillo - Biography">{{cite web|title= Patricio Castillo Biography|publisher=patriciocastillo.com|date=9 March 2004|url= http://www.patriciocastillo.com/biografia.htm|access-date=2009-01-02}}</ref>
*[[Bruce Cockburn]], Canadian musician, on Lily of the Midnight Sky
* [[Raza Obrera|Roberto Gonzalez]] aka "Gurrumino", Mexican musician ([[Raza Obrera]]).<ref name="billboard1">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/364712/raza-obrera/biography |title=Raza Obrera - Biography |magazine=Billboard.com |access-date=2015-06-10}}</ref>
* [[Urubamba (band)|Jorge Milchberg]], Argentine musician, [[Urubamba (band)|Urubamba]] ("Los Incas") member
* [[Gustavo Santaolalla]], Argentine musician (Bolivian-Ronroco specialist)<ref name="On Being with Krista Tippett">{{cite web|url= http://www.onbeing.org/program/gustavo-santaolalla-how-movie-music-moves-us/7591|title= Gustavo Santaolalla - How Movie Music Moves Us|website= On Being with Krista Tippett|access-date= 11 June 2015|archive-date= 12 June 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150612170554/http://onbeing.org/program/gustavo-santaolalla-how-movie-music-moves-us/7591|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/arts/music/15gus.html|title=Gustavo Santaolalla's Film Scores Are Minimalist and His Tango Is Newfangled|last=Rohter|first=Larry|date=14 August 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 September 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[Hector Soto]], charanguista soloist, composer and teacher from Santiago de Chile
* [[Hatun charango|Federico Tarazona]], Peruvian musician, Interpreter<ref>[http://federico-tarazona.weebly.com/hatun-charango.html Federico Tarazona: Hatun Charango]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.larepublica.pe/29-07-2005/federico-tarazona-en-gran-concierto-de-hatun-charango |title=Concierto de Hatun Charango |access-date=2017-11-16 |archive-date=2013-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203034721/http://www.larepublica.pe/29-07-2005/federico-tarazona-en-gran-concierto-de-hatun-charango |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Jaime Torres (musician)|Jaime Torres]], Argentine-Bolivian interpreter,<ref>http://www.cine.ar/catalogo_peliculas_ampliado.php?id=8009&m=F {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321204223/http://www.cine.ar/catalogo_peliculas_ampliado.php?id=8009&m=F |date=2012-03-21 }} Cine .ar.</ref> that was nominated for an [[Academy Award|Oscar]]<ref>[http://www.cinenacional.com/peliculas/index.php?pelicula=691 La deuda interna.]</ref>
* [[Micah Nelson]], American, Interpreter

==In popular culture==
* It is key instrument in [[Andean music|Andean and Latino American musical]] styles and core to popular music in [[Music of Peru|Peru]], [[Music of Bolivia|Bolivia]] and [[Music of Chile|Chile]]
*Some prominent bands and groups that feature the instrument include:
**[[Los Kjarkas]]
**[[Savia Andina]]
**[[Luzmila Carpio]]
**[[Grupo Aymara]]
**[[Inti-Illimani]] 
**[[Quilapayún]] 
**{{ill|Arak Pacha|es|vertical-align=sup}} 
*The charango is featured prominently in the [[Simon & Garfunkel]] hit "If I Could", which was created with new vocals layered on top of the [[Los Incas]] recording of "[[El Cóndor Pasa (song)|El Condor Pasa]]." 
*[[3000 Leagues in Search of Mother]] (1976), Japanese TV anime series, uses charango and quena in its opening song, ''Sougen no Marco'' ({{langx|ja|草原のマルコ}}).
* [[Ólöf Arnalds]], Icelandic folk singer, plays the charango extensively on her debut album '''Við og Við'''. Ólöf also plays charango on two tracks on [[Skuli Sverrisson|Skúli Sverrisson's]] '''Sería''' album:  ''Sungio E.g. Gaeti'' and ''Sería''.
*Yehuda Glantz, Jewish-Latin musician, frequently performs with a charango. On the live album '''Granite''' he informs his audience that he plays a charango from his native Argentina.
*[[Monsieur Periné]], a Colombian group, features charango in many of their songs, mixing Colombian folk rhythms with [[gypsy jazz]].
*[[Morcheeba]], an [[Electronica|electronica group]], has an album entitled [[Charango (album)|Charango]], which includes a song called [[Charango (song)|Charango]], featuring rapper, '''Pace Won'''.
*[[Andrew Reissiger]] of the world music group [[Dromedary (band)|Dromedary]] features the charango on many songs. Reissiger has used the instrument in both the [[Americana (music)|Americana]]/Folk tradition via [[Jonathan Byrd (musician)|Jonathan Byrd]]'s ''[[The Sea and The Sky]]'' and on a Puerto Rican CD with [[Roy Brown (Puerto Rican musician)|Roy Brown]], [[Tito Auger]], and [[Tao Rodriguez-Seeger]] titled '''Que Vaya Bien'''.
*[[Gustavo Santaolalla]], composer for several popular films (including [[Babel (film)|Babel]], [[21 Grams]] & [[The Motorcycle Diaries (film)|The Motorcycle Diaries]]) makes extensive use of the Charango and Ronroco in many of his compositions, and his album '''Ronroco''' (1998) highlights that instrument.
*[[Blanco White]], an English [[singer]]-[[songwriter]], plays charango in several of his songs, most notably the song '''Olalla''' on his 2020 album '''On The Other Side'''.
*[[Eclectic Charango Beats]] a band formed in Brooklyn by Latin American Musicians, incorporates the sound of the charango over cumbia and psychedelic rock textures.
*[[Young the Giant]] prominently feature the instrument on their 2018 song "[[Superposition (song)|Superposition]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=Young the Giant - "Superposition" [LIVE @ SiriusXM]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7c0FQsTqTg|website=[[YouTube]]|date=January 26, 2019|access-date=May 19, 2024}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[List of string instruments]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Cavour Aramayo |editor-first=Ernesto |title=Instrumentos musicales de Bolivia |location=La Paz |orig-year=1994 |year=1999}}
* {{cite book |last=Cavour Aramayo |first=Ernesto |title=El charango: su vida, costumbres y desventuras |location=La Paz |publisher=Producciones CIMA |orig-year=1980 |year=2001}}
* {{cite book |title=The Charango Chord Bible: GCEAE Standard Tuning 1,728 Chords |first = Tobe A. |last = Richards |publisher = Cabot Books |location = United Kingdom |year = 2006 |isbn = 0-9553944-1-4
}}

{{commons}}

==External links==
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20161101225215/http://www.museumofworldmusic.com/char2.html Web page with several tunings for charango.]}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Charangos| ]]
[[Category:Andean music]]
[[Category:Lute family instruments]]
[[Category:String instruments]]
[[Category:South American musical instruments]]
[[Category:Argentine musical instruments]]
[[Category:Bolivian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Chilean musical instruments]]
[[Category:Peruvian musical instruments]]