The Caipira viola or Caipira guitar[1] (in Portuguese: Viola caipira), is a Brazilian ten-string guitar with five courses of strings arranged in pairs.[2] It is a variation of the Portuguese viola that developed in the state of São Paulo during the colonial period,[3] serving as a basis for Paulista music, especially for subgenres of Caipirafolklore, such as moda de viola, caipira pagode, catira, etc.
Origins
It has its origins in Portuguese violas. Violas are direct descendants of the Latin guitar, which, in turn, has an Arabic-Persian origin derived from instruments such as the lute. The Portuguese violas arrived in Brazil and along with other instruments began to be used by the Jesuits in the catechism of the indigenous people,[4] and naturally, for Portuguese-Brazilian settlers and ranchers entertainment and company. Later, guitars began to be built with noble wood from the land, which has always been available in large quantities in Brazil. It is likely a descendant of one of the many folk guitars that have traditionally been
played in Portugal. The viola braguesa and viola amarantina, for instance, are two types of ten-string guitars from the north of Portugal,[5] which are closely related to the Caipira viola
Some have described the Caipira viola as Brazil's national instrument,[6] but others argue that the tambourine-like pandeiro has a stronger claim.[7][8][9][10] The Brazilian Embassy in Washington lists a national flower among the official symbols of Brazil, but no national musical instrument.[11] What is undisputed is that the Caipira viola was introduced in São Paulo before the violão, and is the basis for the Caipira music, or Paulista folk music, as Inezita Barroso states.
Tuning and playing technique
A large number of tunings are used; open tunings are common.[12] Unlike most steel-string guitars, its strings are plucked with the fingers of the right hand similarly to the technique used for classical and flamenco guitars, rather than by the use of a plectrum.
Popularity
Violas are present in nearly all Brazilian music forms, anywhere in the country (although it is declining in some places). It most often associated with Caipira Music (Brazilian country music), with some forms of North-Eastern music and with folkloric music. It was once used to play urban music, like choro, samba and Maxixe, but has been replaced by the acoustic guitar.
A National Association of Viola Players (Associação Nacional dos Violeiros) has been founded in 2004 and the Ministry of Culture has declared the preservation of the Viola tradition as of national interest.
^PIEDADE, A.T.C. Rhetoricity in the music of Villa Lobos: musical topics in Brazilian early XXth-century music. p. 5.
^Corrêa, Roberto (2000). A Arte de Pontear Viola (in Portuguese) (by the author ed.). Brasília. p. 259. ISBN85-901603-1-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
