Tiple
A tiple (English pronunciation: /ˈtipəl/ ; Spanish pronunciation: \ˈtē(ˌ)plā\ , literally treble or soprano) is a plucked-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a tiplista.
Traditional Tiples
Colombian tiple
The tiple Colombiano (Colombian tiple) is an instrument of the guitar family, similar in appearance although slightly smaller (about 18%) than a standard classical guitar. The typical fretboard scale is about 530 mm (just under 21 inches), and the neck joins the body at the 12th fret. There are 12 strings, grouped in four tripled courses. Traditional tuning from lowest to highest course is C E A D, although many modern players tune the instrument like the upper four strings of the modern guitar: D G B E. The outer two strings of each of the three lowest triple courses is tuned an octave higher than the middle string in the course (giving C4 C3 C4 • E4 E3 E4 • A4 A3 A4 • D4 D4 D4 in traditional tuning, or D4 D3 D4 • G4 G3 G4 • B4 B3 B4 • E4 E4 E4 in modern tuning). An 18 or 19 fret fingerboard give the tiple Colombiano a range of about 2-2/3 octaves, from C3 - G#5 (or A5).
This tiple is associated with Colombia, and is considered the national instrument. Tiple virtuoso David Pelham has this to say about the Colombian tiple: "The tiple is a Colombian adaptation of the Renaissance Spanish vihuela brought to the New World in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. At the end of the 19th century, it evolved to its present shape. Its twelve strings are arranged in four groups of three: the first group consists of three steel strings tuned to E, the second, third and fourth groups have a copper string in the middle of two steel strings. The central ones are tuned one octave lower than the surrounding strings of the group. This arrangement produces the set of harmonics that gives the instrument its unique voice." Outside of Colombia the "copper" strings are more likely to be standard brass or bronze wound steel guitar strings.
There is also a tiple Colombiano requinto, often simply called tiple requinto. This instrument is about 10-15% smaller than the tiple Colombiano, and the central octave strings of the larger instrument are replaced with unisions, giving either a C4 C4 C4 • E4 E4 E4 • A4 A4 A4 • D4 D4 D4 tuning (traditional), or a D4 D4 D4 • G4 G4 G4 • B4 B4 B4 • E4 E4 E4 tuning (modern). The tiple requinto is sometimes made in more of a violin or "hourglass" shape, than a guitar shape. These differences give it a generally thinner, higher-pitched sound than the tiple Colombiano, even though most of its tuning is in the same range as the larger instrument.
Puerto Rican tiples
The tiple is the smallest of the three string instruments of Puerto Rico that make up the orquesta jibara (i.e., the Cuatro, the tiple and the Bordonua). According to investigations made by Jose Reyes Zamora, the tiple in Puerto Rico dates back to the 18th century. It is believed to have evolved from the Spanish guitarrillo. There was never a standard for the tiple and as a result there are many variations throughout the island of Puerto Rico. Most tiples have four or five strings and most tiple requintos have three strings. Some tiples have as many as 6 strings and as few as a single string, though these types are rare.
The main types of tiple in Puerto Rico are:
- Tiple requinto de la montaña - a tiny version of the tiple doliente with only three strings. It is usually smaller than 12 inches.
- Tiple requinto costanero - a smaller version of the tiplón with only three strings. It is usually about 15 inches in length.
- Tiple doliente - this tiple has 5 single strings and is the most common used today. It is usually about 15 inches in length.
- Tiplón or tiple con macho - a larger version of the tiple with a fifth string peg like an American banjo, located on its neck. It is usually about 21 inches in length.
- Tiple grande de Ponce - the largest version (about 21 inches in length) with 5 strings. It is considered a link between tiples and bordonuas. It is sometimes also called "bordonua chiquita" (small bordonua).
The tiple that is now most often played in Puerto Rico is the tiple doliente. It has recently acquired a more or less fixed body shape narrowing at the top and having 5 strings (see the accompanying photo). It is usually made like the cuatro, so either constructed like a guitar, or from one piece of wood hollowed out. The bottom half of the body is rounded like a guitar, however the top half is square, or triangular. All other features (like neck and bridge) resemble the construction of a normal Spanish guitar. The peghead has tuning machines either from the side or from the back.
The tiple doliente has five metal strings, tuned: E3 A3 D4 G4 C5.
Tiple Venezolano
This tiple from Venezuela, looks like a smaller version of the Colombian Tiple. It has 4 pairs of triple strings and is also known as the Guitarro, Guitarro Segundo, and the Segunda Guitarra. There is another tiple played in Venezuela but is a member of the Venezuelan Cuatro family of instruments, also called a tiple and known as the Cinco y Medio or Cinco. It is very much like the Cuatro but it has 5 strings instead of four.
Tiple de Menorca
On the Spanish Balearic island of Menorca, a tiple is an instrument with five single nylon strings.
Tiple Cubano
A tiple Cubano, has five doubled courses of strings, ten in total.
Tiple de Santo Domingo
The tiple de Santo Domingo, also known as tiple Dominicano or tiplet, also has five doubled courses, for ten in total. The strings are steel. It is tuned C4, F4, A#4, D5, G5. All of the courses are tuned in unison.
Tiple Peruano
Peru has a tiple with four single or doubled steel strings. It is tuned A3, E4, B4, F#5.
Tiples in Uruguay and Argentina
In Uruguay and Argentina, sometimes the requinto guitar is called a tiple.
Modern versions
American tiple
The tiple was redesigned in 1919 by the American guitar company C.F. Martin & Co. for the William J. Smith Co. in New York. This tiple is smaller than the Colombian version, closer in size to a baritone ukulele. It has ten steel strings in four courses of 2, 3, 3, and 2 strings, tuned similarly to a D-tuned ukulele: A4 A3 • D4 D3 D4 • F#4 F#3 F#4 • B3 B3. Similar instruments were developed by other companies around the same time.
Tiple strings and tuning: Guitar-style metal strings are used, and in addition to the original ukulele-style tuning (above) used, the American tiple is sometimes tuned like the upper four courses of the guitar.
Electric tiples
Electric tiples usually follow either the Colombian (12-string) or Martin (10-string) tuning and string arrangement.
Related instruments
Spanish tiples
In Spain there are similar instruments. This tiny guitar has four strings and is found in Minorca. Other types of small guitars in Spain are the guitarra, guitarro and guitarrico.
Portuguese tiples
Related Portuguese instruments are the cavaquinho or braguinha and the rajâo. The braguinha and the rajâo taken to Hawai'i by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira are the forerunners of the ukulele.
Canary Island timple
Migrating from North Africa in the 16th century to the Canary Islands and then on to Murcia, the timple has become the traditional instrument of the Canaries. In Palma and in the north of the island of Tenerife some players omit the fifth string, tuning the timple like a ukulele, though nowadays this is often seen as non-standard by players in other regions where five strings are preferred. The popular timple tuning is GCEAD.
Unrelated instruments
Marxochime "Hawaiian" tiple
The Marxochime Hawaiian tiple bears no resemblance to the traditional tiples, but looks more like a zither. it is played with a combination of plucking, strumming, and playing with a slide similar to a lap steel guitar. The instrument is one of many zither variants marketed within the United States during the early 20th century, of which only the autoharp ever achieved lasting popularity. The instrument carries the "Hawaiian tiple" name solely for marketing purposes, as interest in Hawaiian music and culture was high in mainland America during the period when the instrument was marketed.
Resources and Sources
Colombian tiple:
- Puerta's tremendous tiple touch
- Colombian luthier Alberto Paredes
- Paredes, A., Mottola, R.M. “Construction of the Colombian Tiple”, American Lutherie #90, 2007, p. 40.
Puerto Rican tiple:
- The Puerto Rican Tiple
- The Tiples of Puerto Rico
- ATLAS of Plucked Instruments
- El Tiple Puertorriqueño (In Spanish)
Spanish tiple:
Timple Canario:
- El Timple (In Spanish)
- Learn TIMPLE (Spanish)
Tiple Cubano:
Tiple Dominicano, Tiple Argentino, Banjo Tiple, Tiple Uruguayo, and the Tiple Venezolano:
Marxochime Hawaiian Tiple: