Jaime Guardia, one of the famous charango players perform the Carnaval de Tambobamba.
Hector Soto, another charango artist plays Quiero ser tu sombra.
Yehuda Glantz on charango playing Adon Olam in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Teatro Coliseo in the year 1992.
Yehuda Glantz on the charango playing with the Israel Symphony Orchestra.
A man plays a song using a charango.
José Luis Reynolds is one of the most famous and renowned charango players in the world. He has received a lot of awards as well as critical compliments in Bolivia in his exceptional performance as a charango virtuoso. He isn’t just a good charango player, he also plays the guitar as well as the Andean flutes.
José Luis Reynolds originated in La Paz, Bolivia. At the age of 13 years old, he has already dedicated himself to music which triggered when his uncle gave him a guitar. Soon thereafter, he joined Kollasuyo, which is his first folk music band at the age of 15. This was then followed by Melodía, which is based in Oruro. At the age of 18 years old, he recorded his very first album. After transferring to Cochabamba, he joined Arawi, with which he toured all throughout Bolivia. He the year 1991, he recorded his last production with this group prior to joining the group named Karumanta Jamuyku. José Luis Reynolds continues to be highly-sought after charango player in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jaime Guardia is a famous Peruvian charango player as well as singer. He originated in Pauza, Parinacochas province, department of Ayacucho, and was born on February 10, 1933. His family were mostly composed of musicians wherein his uncles as well as cousins were great guitar players. This is reason why empathizing with the charango was not difficult for him. During his time, children were not allowed by their parents to play instruments because there was a stigma towards musicians. In his eagerness to learn, he hid his instruments and played in the mountains when he has the chance to sneak out.
At present, Jaime Neyra Guard is considered a master of the Ayacucho regional style of traditional Andean music as well as recognized as one of the world’s greatest charango players. As an artist, he has performed and recorded as a solo act and with the group Lira Pausina. At present, Don Jaime Neyra Guard is 59 years old is continually playing still with the charango. He continues to expand the music he loves as well as the music of his beloved Pauza Ayacucho.
Jaime Torres is one of the world most popular performers on the charango, a small stringed instrument made by the Andean Indians located in South America. He originated from Argentina and learned how to play the charango based on the Spanish Vihuela. He learned this at a young age while taking lessons from Mauro Nuñez, a Bolivian Musician.
When he became good at playing the instrument and became an artist, his first record released in 1964 was entitled the Virtuosismo En Charango. This was then followed by Charango in 1965 as well as Aplausos Para Un Charango in the year 1967. In the same year, Jaime Torres started having his tour in Europe for the first time. He as well moved to the United States in the year 1970 to perform in New York, Washington, as well as Los Angeles. In the year 1974, he together with his band joined in an opening show for the worldwide soccer championship Germany. A year after, Jaime Torres organized a local instrumentalists’ encounter. He then repeated the same event together with the children in the year 1980. In the year 1988, Jamie composed the music for the movie La Deuda Interna which is one of the nominated movies.
The charango is a small ten stringed lute that came from in South America. The back of the instrument is customarily fashioned from an armadillo. When the Spaniards came to South America, they introduced the vihuela, an ancestor of the guitar, with them. The native people liked the vihuela, however lacked the technology to shape the wood in that manner. However, there was a suitable source available to them which were the armadillo shells. Consequently the charango was discovered. Legend has it that the armadillo needs to go to a conservatory for five years to study to turn into a charango. The charango is a outstanding instrument for anybody who already plays on a fretted instrument to pick up. It will be promptly familiar however produce you with a whole variety of fresh tones and note combinations.
Resources used in the construction of the charango assorted depending on the means accessible to the indigenous people in their local environment. Those living close to tropical forests tended to trend their charango’s using single pieces of timber, whilst those in some other districts fashioned the sound boxes out of the shells of armadillo’s as well as in a few instances pumpkin shells or bull’s hides. The present day standardized charango is commonly created from either wood or the shell of a native armadillo referred to as the quirquincho. Those with bodies made of wood are referred to as charango de madera as well as those constructed from armadillo shells are known as charango de quirquincho.
The charango is approximately the size of a ukulele with the average length of sixty six centimeters with the played part of the string and also the scale length approximately thirty three centimeters. The charango has ten strings separated into two categories. The string order, starting nearest the head, is G, C, E, A, E. The strings are in unison with the exemption of the first set of E strings where one string is tuned an octave lower. This tuning is nearly the same as the ukulele with merely the high E strings being different. If you know how to play the guitar or the ukulele, you have a big advantage when it comes to learning to play the charango.