Traditional bachata is a subgenre of Bachata music genre. It refers to the acoustic style of bachata that was popular in the Dominican Republic from the 1960s until about 1990. For most of that period, bachata was performed with two nylon string guitars (often with fishing line for string), an acoustic upright bass or marimbula,

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

, and bongo drum. Towards the end of the 1980s, Blas Duran and other bachata artists began to perform with electric guitar, and replaced the

with the

güira The güira () is a percussion instrument from the Dominican Republic used as a percussion instrument in merengue, bachata, and to a lesser extent, other genres such as cumbia. It is made of a metal sheet (commonly steel) and played with a stiff ...

. The new style that took root is referred to as modern bachata.Pacini Hernandez, Deborah
"Brief history of Bachata"
''Bachata, A social history of a Dominican popular music'', 1995, Temple University Press. Retrieved on December 4, 2008 Traditional bachata bands played son, merengue, and

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

in addition to bolero based songs. Over time, the influence of merengue began to be felt more in the style of bolero based bachata. The introduction of the güira, a merengue instrument, and merengue adapted guitar riffs and rhythmic sections marked the evolution of modern bachata.

References

{{reflist * * * * Dominican Republic music