Parang Instruments

The instruments used by parang bands are representative of the many cultures that form part of our heritage. Amerindian, African and European influences are all visible in the modern parang ensemble. It is now difficult to identify one group of instruments as the 'core' of the parang band. Traditionally, however, most bands would have some combination of the following instruments: cuatro, mandolin, tiple, violin, bandol (bandola), bandolin, guitar, box bass, maracas ("chac chac"), wood block (claves or "tock tock") (Taylor 33; Marquez 67; “Parang”). Contemporary bands have included other instruments such as flute, scratcher (güiro), electric bass, Latin percussion and steel pan (Ingram). Outlined below is a brief description of the major instruments used by parang bands:

Bandol or Bandola - Taylor, in her description of the local instrument, states that it is approximately 85 x 30 cms and has four double strings. Two of the base strings are made of metal and two of gut while the four treble strings are all made of gut (36). This is supported by the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, which defines the bandola as "a flat-backed lute of Central and South America" (“Bandola” ). It points out that there are "two types of Venezuelan bandola: the first, found in the western plains, has four single strings, tuned b-e′-b′-f″; the second, from north-eastern Venezuela, has four double courses, the lower pair tuned in octaves and the higher strings in unison, as follows: A/a-e/e′- b′/b′-f#″/ f#″." (“Bandola”). It seems therefore that the type found in Trinidad and Tobago is consistent with that of north-eastern Venezuela.

Box Bass – This wooden instrument, native to Trinidad, provides the bass accompaniment for parang. It consists of a square or rectangular box about eighteen to twenty inches high with a hole, six inches in diameter in its centre. A detachable pole is positioned on one corner of the top of the box. From the centre of the box a string of nylon or jute is attached to the top of the pole. Notes are achieved by varying the angle of the pole and moving the fingers, which depress the string along the pole. The sound is emitted through the hole in the front of the box. (“Musical Instruments“)

Cello (violoncello) – The cello is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. The cello is much larger than a violin, and unlike that instrument, is played in an upright position between the legs of the seated musician, resting on a metal spike. The player draws his or her bow horizontally across the strings (“Cello”).

Claves (tock tock) – Concussion idiophones of Cuban origin consisting of two cylindrical hardwood sticks measuring from 20 to 25 cm in length and from 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter (“Claves”).

Cuatro – an instrument of the guitar family, found in South America and the West Indies… The small cuatro of Venezuela has four strings, traditionally made of gut but now mostly of nylon, usually tuned a-d′- f#″-b (“Cuatro”).

Güiro (scratcher) – A percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a wooden stick along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound (The Free Dictionary.com). The right hand usually holds the scrapper (or pua) and the left hand holds the güiro with the thumb inserted into the back sound hole. This instrument is approximately 25-35 cms long. It is believed to have originated among the Arawaks and spread among the peoples of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central America and parts of Mexico (“Instruments-Güiro” ; Garland Encyclopedia).

Guitar – A stringed instrument of the lute family, plucked or strummed, and normally with frets along the fingerboard … the modern guitar has six strings, a wooden resonating chamber with incurved sidewalls and a flat back (“Guitar”).

Mandolin /Bandolin – Taylor suggests that there is some debate about the distinction between these two instruments. She notes that some Trinidadians consider them to be synonymous while others claim that the flat-backed version of the instrument is called the mandolin and the bowled bodied one is known as the bandolin (36). Some music reference texts seem to support the first theory.

• Mandolin – A small plucked wire-string instrument … it has four double courses of strings, tuned g-d′-a′-e″ (like the violin), and a deeply bowled body. Modern variants … have a flat or gently curved back but a wider pear-shaped body and sometimes an arched belly and f-shaped sound holes. (The Oxford Companion).

• Mandolin – Any of several types of small pear-shaped, fretted string instruments plucked with a plectrum, quill or the fingers. Variations include the flat-backed mandolin – A general term encompassing various instruments (such as the bandola and bandolin), encountered primarily in North and South America (The New Grove Dictionary).

Taylor maintains that both instruments are pear-shaped, approximately 45 x 24 cms, with four double strings of wire. The round back version is sometimes made with the shell of a morocoy or turtle (36).

Maracas (chac-chac or “shak-shak”) – A pair of gourd rattlers, most commonly oval. The gourd contains the naturally dried seeds of the fruit. Imitations in wood, wickerwork, Bakelite or metal contain beads, small shot, or similar rattling pieces (“Maracas”). In Trinidad and Tobago, maracas are usually made from the fruit of the calabash tree.

• How to make maracas