The timple is a traditional five-string
plucked string instrument
Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucki ...
of the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
. It started being manufactured in the 19th century.
In
La Palma island and in the north of the island of
Tenerife, many timple players omit the fifth (D) string, in order to play the timple as a four-string
ukulele, though this is considered less traditional by players and advocates of the five-string version. The players of the four-string style, in return, say that they are simply playing the timple in the old-fashioned way from before the time when a fifth string was introduced in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The common tuning is GCEAD.
Notable timple players (''timplistas'') are
Benito Cabrera (
Lanzarote
Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...
), Germán López (
Gran Canaria),
José Antonio Ramos,
Totoyo Millares, and
Pedro Izquierdo (
Tenerife).
See also
*
Tiple
References
External links
*
{{Guitars
Guitar family instruments
Canarian musical instruments
