Description: The bandurria is originally from Spain it arrived in the Philippines during Spanish colonial rule during "1555 to 1898". Philippino Bandurria's may have 14 strings and the fingerboard has either 14 to 16 frets. The bandurria in the Philippines is used to play rondalla music and is a lead instrument as it is also used to accompany the voice. Many materials can be used to make the bandurria they range from coconut shells, to turtle shells. Professional bandurria's are made from woods ranging from Philippine mahogany to Lanka wood, kamagong wood and many others imported woods are quite popular too. The specimen you see in this photo is made from a plastic-like shell.

About the Rondalla: Rondalla is a genre of music whose focus is on “plucked mandolin-like instruments”, this genre originates from medieval Spain from the Aragon, Murcia and Valencia regions of Spain the Rondalla spread to the Philippines throughout the Spanish empire. The name Rondalla comes from the Spanish word “Ronda” meaning “to serenade”. The standard instrumentation includes bandurria, laud, octavina (a 12-string guitar like instrument but smaller in size), classical guitar and upright bass and or the bass-guitar. Recently Rondalla is played by the Philippine Diasporas in the United States and elsewhere. Other instruments including Ukulele and Harp can be heard along with percussion.

Citations: Rondalla Instruments >