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Andean Musical Instruments

Whereas most South American percussion and wind instruments date back to Inca or pre-Inca times, stringed instruments were initially introduced by the Spanish, though later they may have been adapted to local conditions or materials.

Charango:

This is a small 10-stringed guitar most commonly played in Bolivia. The sound box of this instrument is traditionally made from the shell of an armadillo, which gives it a unique "voice".

Sampoña: sampona This is the panpipe, known as siku in the Aymara language. The unusual feature of sampoñas is that a complementary pair is needed to play a melody as each instrument has only certain notes. Sampoñas are made and bound with reed.

Bombo:

This a large wooden drum found throughout the Andes. It is hollowed out from the trunk of a tree, and is sometimes covered in animal skins.

Quena: quena One of the oldest flutes in the Americas the quena is a simple vertical flute with 5-6 finger-holes and thumb hole, but no mouthpiece. It can be made from reed, wood, clay, metal-even from a condor's wing bone.

Other instruments can include:
Pinkillos (flutes), cascabeles (bells), guacharaca (scraper), caja (snare drum), maracas (wooden rattles), claves (harp) and concha (conch shell).

For more on Andean instrruments