The Bandurria in Peru: And also in Peru one would find 12, 14, 16, 20 stringed bandurrias. One of which is called a Marimacho bandurria which in English translates as "Hermaphedite bandurria, as told to me by my teacher Rene Hugo Sanchez. In this example of the bandurria this one is often played in Cuzco Peru and is considered a soloists instrument however is also played with ensembles. The instrumental arrangements may include solo which is bandurria alone or bandurria with vocals, or bandurria and guitar, or wind instruments such as the kena, bandurria, mandolin, guitar and percussion and so on. Many of the tunings for bandurria in Peru are found in the Cuzco department. The bandurria is played most often in the areas of Cuzco, Ayacucho, Araquipaand the Apruimac departmentos where the bandurria remains most popular there often in solo, or accompaniment with other instruments and or vocals.
The bandurria in this case maybe played with a pick or plectrum often nowadays with a guitar pick. The specimen I have is a 14-stringed lead bandurria in which is made in the 1950s and is a vintage model. Sounds quite resonant when played and great to play as an instrument; the marimacho bandurria is often tuned a fifth below from the bandurria specimen I have in which is similar to the charangon / ronroco is to that of the charango. The strings are particularly very light on many types of bandurria however. I can say for my specimen and personal experience with this bandurria. And if you own a similar specimen be very careful in the way you tune. Since the bandurria uses metal strings go very slowly in which you tune the strings and also make sure one should have an accurate and sensitive guitar tuner.
The Bandurria in Spain: The bandurria has its origins in Spain and medieval and earliest mentioning’s date back to the baroque area in Europe. However it’s now believed that the bandurria may have its origins to the Roman era Pandora. The bandurria in Spain unlike its Peruvian relative is much shorter in and a wider body. In the renaissance period the bandurria was played by picking with the fingers, and the technique of playing did not include the plectrum (citation bandurria/faq), the bandurria in the baroque period was a much smaller instrument then previous? Today’s bandurria in Spain is constructed from walnut, maple, ebony (fingerboard sometimes), cedar or sycamore; traditionally the bandurria had wooden tuning pegs. Today like many plucked lutes, the Spanish bandurria is assembled with machine-gear tuners.
The Bandurria in the Philippines: As with other former Spanish colonies the bandurria came relatively recent in its musical history along with other "western instruments". The bandurria in the Philippines is one of the primary instruments in playing the rondala (Philippino Folk music genre) the orchestration or assembly may be followed > bandurria > guitar > harp occasionally > octavina > mandolin > ukulele > flute, accordion, bass (upright or electric guitar) are often added in contemporary or modern rondala ensembles. The rondala in the Philippines is predominantly instrumental, other randallas in Mexico often feature the guitar, as with in other styles of rondala maybe more vocal in orientation.
The Tunings: The bandurria employs many tunings in which reflect the regional tradition, style and influences of music to be played on the bandurria. For example the tuning named "Temple Bandurria Cusqueña, aka E-B-G-D" is not only a regional tuning but often considered the standard tuning in which often bandurria players tune the bandurria too. Many of the tunings can be found on the excellent web site www.pacoweb.net.