Guitarro (instrument)

This article is about the Spanish musical instrument. For the United States submarine, see USS Guitarro (SSN-665).

The Guitarro (Catalan: guitarró) is a small, baroque,^[1] five-stringed guitar^[2] from Aragon, slightly larger than the requinto or cavaquinho. The instrument is also found in other regions of Spain, such as Andalusia, La Mancha, and Murcia.

Spanish guitarro

Common tuning is B F# D A E, but this sometimes varies. While all five strings are usually single, the three middle strings can also be doubly strung to produce a stronger sound.

Never intended as a solo instrument, the guitarro typically provides plucked accompaniment to Aragonese jotas and rondas.

This instrument was brought to America and there are instruments derived from it throughout America.

References

1. Libin, Laurence, ed. (2014). The Grove dictionary of musical instruments (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974339-1. Guitarro. Term for a small guitar of Spain. Derived from Baroque models, it has five (sometimes four) single or double courses...
2. Sahney, Vivek (2019-11-04). Dictionary of Music & Staff Notation. Notion Press. p. (Unpaginated). ISBN 978-1-64587-848-3. Guitarro: A small Spanish five string guitar. Guitarro manchego, aragones and levantino are different regional varioations of the small instrument.