The jarana huasteca, jarana de son huasteco or jaranita is a

string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...

. It is most often called simply jarana. It is a

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

-like

chordophone String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

with 5 strings, tuned in thirds (low to high): G, B, D, F# and A. It has a range similar to the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, and a scale length of around 40 cm. The instrument usually forms part of the '' trío huasteco'' ensemble, along with the ''quinta

huapanguera The huapanguera, guitarra quinta huapanguera or guitarra huapanguera is a Mexican guitar-like instrument that usually forms part of a conjunto huasteco ensemble, along with the jarana huasteca and violin. Because of its large body and deeper s ...

'' and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, taking on the role of the rhythmic accompaniment. Compared to the ''guitarra

'', the instrument is smaller and higher-pitched.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarana Huasteca Mexican musical instruments Guitar family instruments