Tololoche

The tololoche is a traditional musical instrument from northern Mexico. It is similar but smaller than the European double bass, but still large enough to produce low sounds. It has three^[1] or four strings, and is played and noted with the fingers (pizzicato). It is purely a folk instrument, and not used in classical music.

In northern Mexico it is used in Fara fara, norteño and tango music. These styles include the accordion, snare drum, tololoche, saxophone, guitar or bajosexto. It is also used by musicians playing in bars and taverns in cities in the north. The tololoche became established in the north of Mexico as indispensable to the interpretation of regional music and less awkward than the classical double-bass to transport.

The instrument is purely acoustic, and its role is endangered by electric instruments. In the 1950s, modern instruments such as the drum set and the electric bass began to take the place of the tambor de rancho and tololoche, respectively.^[2] However, musicians and composers have returned to the tololoche for consistency within the field of traditional music.

Terminology

It is also called chicote because one playing technique produces a whip-like sound. Some players play the chicote note along with two strokes of the palms to produce a drum beat, while others prefer to strike the body as one would the cajon of Peru, creating percussive rhythms when there is no drum available.

Construction

The neck of a tololoche is usually made of pine and the body of caobilla, unlike the viol. The four-string tuning is A-D-G-C (La-Re-Sol-Do).

Strings were traditionally made of gut, giving way to steel-wrapped nylon.

References

1. John Mendell Schechter (1999). Music in Latin American culture: regional traditions. Schirmer Books. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-02-864750-0. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
2. South Texas studies. Victoria College Press. 1997. p. 117. Retrieved 6 April 2011.