The güira () is a percussion instrument from the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
used 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 brush, thus being similar to the Haitian graj (a perforated metal cylinder scraped with a stick) and the Cuban
guayo (metal scraper) and
güiro (gourd scraper). Güira, guayo and güiro all have a function akin to that of the indigenous native
maracas or the trap-kit's
hi-hat, namely providing a complementary beat.
Performers on the güira are referred to as ''güireros'' and in
merengue típico ensembles they often co-lead percussion sections along with tambora-playing ''tamboreros'', due to the significance of their African-derived interlocking rhythms in providing a basic musical foundation for dance.
Usage
The güira is most often found in
merengue típico where it serves as one of multiple percussion instruments, most usually interlocking with the rhythm of the tambora, a fairly small horizontally mounted rustic drum normally played with one stick and one bare hand. Mastering its usual 'correct' playing techniques has been dubbed very challenging. Güireros may use a variety of playing techniques to play various rhythms, however nearly all playing is done with one hand only holding the instrument from its large rounded (to reduce hand fatigue) handle, while it is scraped with the other (dominant) hand holding the brush, which may be made for this purpose, but in practice is typically a metal-tined
afro pick hair styling comb, although some players may use a cane- or plastic-toothed scraper.
Normally the güira consists of an open-ended tube with many sound-producing nodules protruding its outer (usual) playing surface. The body of the güira is generally some type of thin sheet steel. One commercial variant commonly called a torpedo is fully enclosed with tapered ends and is supplied with mineral or glass beads or metal shot inside to double as a shaker. Given its unwieldy shape and the additional weight of tapered ends and shaker fill, using a güira as a shaker may be impractical. Regardless of how it is used, its traditional main function is to propel the tempo, not only to add its uniquely swishy metallic timbre's sabor ("flavor").
Another key aspect of the güira is how much the (external) playing surface is (mostly internally, although flexibly using the holding hand and/or stuffing some light filler like felt or foam/fiber/excelsior inside) "dampened" (muted). This aspect influences how
staccato
Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of Articulation (music), musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and ...
or "dry" its sound will be, and advanced players may modulate muting while playing for additional timbral variation.
While the player holds the güira firmly with one hand while using the scraper with their
dominant hand, the güira is usually brushed (lightly scraped transversely) steadily on the downbeat with a preceding "and-a" in its characteristic galloping figure; it is also sometimes played in more soloistic complex patterns that still generally mark the tempo. Modern
cumbia also sometimes features a (metal-sided) güira instead of the traditional (gourd-bodied) guiro. Typical rhythmic patterns for cumbia include the ''golpe'' ("gallop").
Dances featuring the güira range from the fast-paced merengue típico or cibaeño (typical/traditional 2/2 time with accordion lead), perico ripiao (deriv. unclear; lit. "ripped parrot" or quick, bird-like) or merengue derecho ("straight-ahead merengue") to the slower
pambiche or merengue pambichao (translit. Engl. "Palm Beach-esque" merengue), with
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
s of 88-180 bpm. While its use in the more-romantic
bachata (lit. "pierced" implying festooned with flowers) styles is applied at various medium to very fast tempos, modern güira has been used in a wide variety of dance styles, as its versatility and ability to "cut through" a dense sonic mix and thereby maintain a consistent dance tempo is similar to that of how hi-hat or shakers like maracas are employed.
Craft
According to Francisco Javier Durán García, New York City based instrument maker, the traditional art of güira making involves a tree stump, hammer, nail, metal tube, and wood block.
The instrument is hand fashioned from sheet metal into a (roughly 13") long cylindrical tube along with repeatedly-dimpled (not fully perforated) tubular (exterior) surface.
Comparison to the güiro
The Dominican güira is similar in usage to the Puerto Rican/Cuban
güiro though of distinct
timbre
In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
. Whereas the güiro is often a hollowed-out gourd, thus producing a more wooden tone, the metal construction of the güira gives it a characteristic metallic timbre.232
Cultural significance
The güira as part of the merengue típico is emblematic of Dominican heritage. It is estimated to be the most widespread instrument in the country.
When
Rafael Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...
came to power in 1930 he made the music the national emblem.
The Dominican güira has also become the instrument of choice for non Dominican styles of music in other countries. In
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
for example, the güira has replaced the traditional wood “
guacharaca” in modern
vallenato music, specially during large live performances. Likewise, many “
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
” dance orchestras and bands in Colombia use the Dominican güira to play
cumbia and other local popular styles. Much like the Cuban
tumbadoras (congas) which have become the general all purpose instrument for dance music in Colombia (being added to the vallenato ensemble or even replacing traditional local drums in some cases during live performances of cumbia) the Dominican güira has also become a general all purpose scraped instrument for dance bands in Colombia.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guira
Caribbean musical instruments
Dominican Republic musical instruments
Scraped idiophones
Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments
Merengue music