The octavina or Ecuadorian-Peruvian octavina is a

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

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

instrument with a tuning similar to the

laúd Laúd () is a plectrum-plucked chordophone from Spain, played also in diaspora countries such as Cuba and the Philippines. The laúd belongs to the cittern family of instruments. The Spanish and Cuban instruments have six double courses i ...

. Originally a Spanish instrument, the octavina was soon incorporated into other cultures, notably including culture of Ecuador and

culture of Peru Peruvian culture is the gradual blending of Amerindian cultures with European and Asian ethnic groups. The ethnic diversity and rugged geography of Peru allowed diverse traditions and customs to co-exist. Peruvian culture has been deeply influen ...

History

With the large Spanish influence on Lima-Quito culture from the 16th to the 19th century, many traditional Spanish instruments became incorporated into local music, and after passed time, have evolved into entirely unique instruments. The Spanish precursor to the octavina may have been the smaller-bodied, 12 string

Bandurria The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the mandolin and bandola, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in former Spanish colonies. Instrument development Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had a ro ...

-like instrument called the "Octavilla", although its use was not as prominent or popular. The name as translated in all versions of the instrument has the

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed. Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...

of octa- which refers to the tuning of each set of double strings. Today it is most commonly found in the local variant of the

rondalla The rondalla is an ensemble of stringed instruments played with the plectrum or pick and generally known as plectrum instruments. It originated in Medieval Spain, especially in the ancient Crown of Aragon: Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia, and Valenci ...

, a hispanic string orchestra.

Tuning

The Octavina has a set of 14 strings ( in 6 courses: 6th-single, 5th-double, 4th-double, 3rd-triple, 2nd-triple and 1st-triple. It is numbered starting from the bottom. It is tuned similarly to that of the bandurria, but one octave lower, giving: *1st: G4 G4 G4 *2nd: D4 D4 D4 *3rd: A3 A3 A3 *4th: E3 E3 *5th: B2 B2 *6th: F#2

Construction

Formed like a guitar with in most cases, a figure eight-shaped body and a round sound hole, the Octavina has a shorter

neck The neck is the part of the body in many vertebrates that connects the head to the torso. It supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that transmit sensory and motor information between the brain and the rest of the body. Addition ...

, often with only 16

frets A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the Neck (music), neck or Fingerboard, fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the Neck ( ...

, though some octavinas may have 18 to 20 frets, like its close relative, the

. The instrument is played like the laúd plays, the lower notes in accompaniments and in unison with the bass notes.

References

{{Authority control Philippine musical instruments Guitar family instruments Music of Southeast Asia

History

Tuning

Construction

See also

References