The Colombian Tiple

by Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez

Originally published in American Lutherie #82, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015



In an article published in American Lutherie #39 (Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Four) by Jorge Gonzalez Jr., several important statements are made in connection with the tiple. The first of them says that, “The origin of the tiple is still a subject of debate, but the modern tiple is thought to have been developed in Colombia.” It states further that “...the early Colombian tiple had four single gut strings which later evolved into four courses of triple steel strings with a requintilla (the center string of each course, tuned an octave lower than the others) on the lower three courses. There are also examples of Colombian tiples with ten steel strings in which the outer courses are double and the inner courses are triple.” Lastly, “The tiple is, in essence, a small guitar indigenous to Spain and many South American nations. Construction is similar, if not identical, to that of a guitar.”