The name chillador can refer either to two related types of

charango 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 we ...

. The First type, simple called chillador, is a type of charango which has a flat back and is usually steel-strung. It exists in both 10-and 12-string forms. When strung with 10-strings (in 5 courses) it is tuned the same as a charango. With 12 strings, courses 2 and 4 are triple-strung, and the (re-entrant) tuning is more like that of a

charangon The Charangón is a small lute-like fretted stringed instrument, of the charango family. Its general shape and construction are very similar to the charango, but it is larger and is typically pitched 3 or 4 diatonic intervals lower (a "4th" or a ...

or ronroco in Argentine tuning. The chillador charango is a standardly-tuned charango but with a body built from bent sides and a flat back like a (smaller) guitar

Chillador or steel-strung type

A chillador is a very small

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 ...

-shaped fretted

stringed instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play so ...

, usually with 10, 12, or 14 metal strings, in paired or tripled courses. It is played in southern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and northern

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The chillador has 5 courses like its cousin, the

, and has a similar tuning to the charango. The chillador is a common instrument of estudiantina ensembles, and is typically strummed rapidly, rather than plucked. There are several characteristics that separate a chillador from a charango: The chillador has a smaller scale length (31 cm) than a charango (37 cm); the chillador typically has 12 or 14 metal strings while the charango has 10 strings which are typically nylon; and the chillador has a flat back with laminated wood sides like a guitar, while the charango usually has a one-piece carved wood back or uses an armadillo shell. The chillador is an essential instrument of Kajelo music.

Chillador charango

The chillador charango is tuned like a standard charango with 10 nylon strings in 5 courses, but it is built differently, with bent sides and a flat back like a guitar or ukulele. It is often deeper than a ukulele, in order to get a similar sound as the standard carved charango.

References

Charangos Necked bowl lutes Peruvian musical instruments {{Lute-stub