What family is the vihuela in?

What family is the vihuela in?

rebec family
Their vihuela-inherited frets made these easier to play in tune than the rebec family (precursors of the “da braccio” family), and so they became popular for chamber music….Vihuela.

What is a vihuela in English?

vihuela in British English (Spanish biˈwela ) noun. an obsolete plucked stringed instrument of Spain, related to the guitar.

What is a vihuela used for?

The VIHUELA MEXICANA is a traditional instrument used in Mariachi music. It is physically similar to the Guitarrón but on a smaller scale. The sound produced from this musical instrument is that of a tenor guitar. The body or the sound box is much smaller than a guitar, and the vihuela has a convex back.

What are the strings on the vihuela?

The vihuela has five nylon strings in reentrant tuning. Similar to the first five strings of a guitar, but with the third, fourth and fifth an octave above what one might expect. Tuning: A-D-G-B-E – The A, D, and G are tuned one octave above a guitar.

Where did the vihuela originate from?

Kingdom of Aragon
The vihuela, essentially a flat-backed lute, evolved in the mid-15th century Kingdom of Aragon and was in common use in Spain and Italy by the late 15th through to the late 16th centuries. The viol developed from the vihuela when players in the second half of the 15th century began using a bow instead of plucking.

How big is a vihuela?

Vihuela specifications: Overall length 35″, (90cm) Body length 16 3/4″, (42.5cm) Width loweer bouts 9″, (22.90cm) Width waist 7 1/8″, (18.40cm)

How many strings does the vihuela have?

vihuela, in full vihuela de mano, stringed musical instrument that in Spanish Renaissance art music held the popularity accorded the lute elsewhere in Europe. Built like a large guitar, it had six, sometimes seven, double courses of strings tuned like the lute: G–c–f–a–d′–g′.

Why is the vihuela extinct?

In late 16th century, fading of the Spanish and Portugal style of complex polyphonic music led to the abandonment of wide use of all types of Vihuela – “Vihuela de mano” (which was played with fingers), “Vihuela de penola” (played with plectrum) and “Vihuela de arco” (played with the bow).

Is the vihuela a lute?

The vihuela, essentially a flat-backed lute, evolved in the mid-15th century Kingdom of Aragon and was in common use in Spain and Italy by the late 15th through to the late 16th centuries.

What does vihuela mean in English?

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: vihuela(Noun) A guitar-like string instrument of 15th- and 16th-century Spain, usually with twelve paired strings. vihuela(Noun) A guitar-like string instrument of 19th-century Mexico with five strings, typically played in mariachi bands.

What does a vihuela look like?

The physical appearance of vihuelas was varied and diverse; there was little standardization and no mass production. Overall and in general, vihuelas looked very similar to modern guitars. The first generation of vihuela, from the mid-15th century on, had sharp cuts to its waist, similar to that of a violin.

When was the vihuela invented?

In Spain, Portugal, and Italy the vihuela was in common use by the late 15th through to the late 16th centuries. In the second half of the 15th century, some vihuela players began using a bow, leading to the development of the viol .

What is a vihuela de mano?

A bowed version, the vihuela de arco (arco meaning bow), was conceived in Spain and made in Italy from 1480. One consequence was the phrase vihuela de mano being thereafter applied to the original plucked instrument.