Music Roars

1. Bajo sexto: It means sixth bass. It has 12-strings in 6 double courses and is used in norteño music of northeastern Mexico. In music of south Texas it is known as “conjunto,” “Tex-Mex,” or “música mexicana-tejana”.

2. Cajon: It is also called cajón de tapeo and is a wood box drum that is played by slapping one face or two faces using a stick and a hand or sometimes using both hands. It follows 3/4 y 6/8 time signatures.

3. The guitarrón: It means large guitar and is a very large Mexican acoustic bass with 6-string. It is played in mariachi bands.

4. The jarana: It is a stringed instrument shaped like a guitar. It comes from southern region of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. It has eight strings in 5 courses that are arranged in two single outer strings with 3 courses between. The strings are made of nylon, but in the past they were made of gut. The jarana can give great effect when used in combination with other instruments such as the ‘arpa jarocha’ or Veracruz folk harp, the ‘guitarra de son’.

5. Vihuela: It is combination of two different guitar-like string instruments. One is vihuela which is historic dating back to 16th century that has 12 paired strings and the other is modern Mexican vihuela from 20th century Mexico that has five strings.

6. The pandero octagonal: It is one kind of tamborine that is played more in Veracruz, Mexico. It is octagonally-shaped and is ringed with eight jangling metal disks and with an animal skin stretched over one side.