Description:
The banduria is a short-necked lute who originates from Spain. The term banduria comes from the text "Libro De Buen Amor" by Juan Ruiz published in 1555. The current form of bandurria's may have 12 to 14 strings. In the 1800s the bandurria often accompanied a dance called the "zapateo" in which made its way from Spain to Cuba to Latin America. The bandurria was globally distributed as far from Latin America, South America and the Philippines. The closest South American relatives of the bandurria are the Colombian bandolla and the Ecuadorian bandolin.
The origins of the Bandurria: The origins of the bandurria are routed in the medieval period during this time the bandurria had a total of four strings. The fourth string was added to the banduria in the renaissance period. In the baroque period the bandurria was given five courses or a total of 10 strings the tuning was G#, c#, f#, b', e,” a”. This tuning is a third semitone above the standard guitar tuning eadgbe.
The Bandurria in Spain: In Spain the bandurria has its origins during the medieval period. The bandurria has been mentioned since the Baroque period. In Spain the bandurria is much shorter in length from body to neck. The body of the Spanish bandurria is much wider. In the renaissance period the bandurria was played by picking with the fingers. In the baroque period there bandurria was a much smaller instrument. The bandurria today is constructed from walnut, maple, ebony for the finger board, cedar or sycamore.
The Bandurria in Peru: in Peru one would find the strings of the bandurria arranged in 12, 14, 16, 20 courses. During the 1800s the bandurria was played in the coast of Peru. Not that far off the bandurria started migrating inwards to the Andes. In Cuzco there is a much larger type of bandurria called a marimacho bandurria which in English this translates as "hermaphrodite" bandurria. The marimacho bandurria is tuned a fifth below from the lead bandurrias. This type of bandurria is often played in Cuzco Peru and is considered a soloists instrument. Traditional instrumental arrangements of the bandurria do include the bandurria, arpa (harp), kena and voice. Many of the tunings for bandurria in Peru are found in the Cuzco, Araquipa and the neighboring departments where the bandurria is played.
The Tunings: In Peru the bandurria employs many alternate tunings that are commonly associated with the areas of where the bandurria is played.
| Spain, Standard | A-E-B-F#-G-C |
| Spain, Boroque | G#-C#-F#-B-E |
| Spain, Renaissance | C-F-B-A-E |
| Peru, Apurimac | A-E-C-G |
| Peru, Ayacucho | E-A-E-C |
| Peru, Carnival | E-C-G-E |
| Peru, Cusqueño | E-B-G-D |
About My Specimen: The bandurria in this case maybe played with a pick a guitar pick, the specimen I have is a 14-stringed lead bandurria in which is made in the 1954. This paricular bandurria sounds quite resonant when played. If you own a similar specimen be very careful in the way you tune since the string guages are quite thin in diameter they can be prone to snapping and the tention can be too much on the neck. One should also have a sensitive guitar tuner since the strings sometimes do go out of tune on these instruments. In the 1800s its said the Peruvian bandurria was present amongst the Afro-Peruvian communities.