The ''bordonua'' (bordonúa) is a large, deep body (sound-boxes are usually deep) bass

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

which is native to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. They are made using several different shapes and sizes. The ''bordonúa'' is the least common of the three stringed instruments that make up the Puerto Rican ''orquesta jibara'' (i.e., the cuatro, the tiple and the bordonúa). The bordonua usually has three sound holes, with a large central one and two smaller ones in the two corners of the upper bout. The usual body shape is quite slender and tapers in towards the top, however there is a wide variety of other designs also.

History

The original bordonua resembles the old 17th century Spanish

Acoustic bass guitar The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

called the ''Bajo de la Una''. There were also special melodic Bordonuas that were used during the 1920s and 1930s as accompaniment to melody instead of the bass role. These were oddly tuned like a tiple. This configuration is no longer used on the island. They are also related to the Spanish Renaissance vihuela, brought to the Island by conquering Spanish.

Currently

All Bordonuas made today are used as bass guitars, primarily by initiatives promoting

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. There are several different types of Bordonuas which are made in Puerto Rico today: *6-String Bordonua - This Bordonua has six single strings. *8-String Bordonua - This Bordonua has four pairs of strings. *10-String Bordonua - This Bordonua has five pairs of strings. (This is the most common type)

Baby Bordonua Bordonúa Chiquita

Apparently, a very small Bordonúa also existed in some regions of the island. It is descended from the Spanish

family, in contrast to the Cuatro, that descends from the family of bandurria. These smaller Bordonúas are the same as the larger Tiple Guitarrillos. They were figure 8 shaped with a very narrow waist between the upper and lower bouts.

Tunings for the Bordonua

Bordonúa (6 string) *D *A *E *E *B *F# Bordonúa (10 string) *A-a *D-d *F#-f# *b-b *e-e

References

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External links

See how a bordonúa is made The Puerto Rican Bordonúa - A Site Dedicated to the Bordonúa of Puerto Rico
Guitar family instruments Puerto Rican musical instruments