Use this thread to tell stories about the charango. Either the story of how you became interested in the instrument, how the instrument generally has had an effect on your life, or the story of a particular charango you own or know of.

My interest in charango began not long after learning about Andean music. I first was exposed to anything resembling Andean music with the Mexican group Los Askis, who played an Andean Cumbia Fusion with charangos and quenas on top of more typical Latin American instruments. Following this interest, I was given a quena for Christmas. Not long after that, I decided the charango was my true calling. So I got one from charango mall. The shipping took a good few decades, but eventually, it did come.

I'm blind, so learning to play the charango has always been a bit of a challenge, as there are no local lessons available, and at the time of receiving it, I spoke almost no Spanish despite being Mexican American, This was a problem because that is what most youtube tutorials with audio are in. Fortunately, I have since learned Spanish. Unfortunately, I still play charango horribly, despite my efforts.

Hi there, i am planning to change my charango strings, i don't know what strings my charango have currently because i bought it as a second hand, i am going to list charango strings that are available on thomann, can you tell me which one should i buy? Thanks you.

https://www.thomannmusic.com/pyramid_charango_saiten_set_nylon.htm

https://www.thomannmusic.com/aquila_2ch_nylgut_series.htm

https://www.thomannmusic.com/la_bella_c80_charango.htm

https://www.thomannmusic.com/aquila_1ch_new_nylgut_charango.htm

https://www.thomannmusic.com/dogal_d114_charango_strings.htm

Hi everyone, just wanted to ask some suggestion for my repique and how can i prevent the "wearing down" of my index fingernail.

I tried some strengthening nail polish but nothing quite worked so i wanted to ask some suggestion for my case.

I was thinking about some fake nails but I'would prefer use my natural nail.

What's a good sounding pickup to put on my charango? I have one which is purely acoustic that I've wanted to have the option of recording or sending through a pickup. I'd prefer not drilling into the wood either. I've tried just sticking a contact mic on it but it gets too loud very fast.

Does anybody have an idea what kind of wood this charango could be made of? I bought it in Ecuador some years ago, it's completely handmade by one luthier. The wood seems to be very hard, but I don't quite know what tree species it actually is.

Hello, I am currently looking at a luthier made charango that is second hand, 3 years old and in very good condition, just wanted to know what standard depreciation looks like for these instruments once they are not brand new, many thanks

Hi folks!

It’s been around 4 weeks since I started learning how to play the charango. Trying to dive into the tremolo technique but I feel I am missing something important. Please see the short video of me playing.

The problem is that when I accelerate I feel that the tension in my forearm increases and the movement gets out of my control. Is it normal to have that tension in the beginning or is my technique just that wrong? I mean you can be direct, I know I am not good at it yet. Any advice or critique would help.

It's actually a Ronroco I'm looking for. Heard about DanRzesnik or something like that, anyone purchased from him? He has no EU stock though = long delay and crazy taxes.

Hi folks! It's been a couple of weeks since I started learning charango. And here are some of my thoughts I wanted to share, which might also help other newcomers.

1. Charango is not a small guitar. It is a completely different instrument with its own logic, technique, and musical identity. Yes, in theory, you can play it like a guitar. But by the same logic, you could also use a banjo as a drum.
2. Even if you already play music, you still have to treat it like learning a new language. I’m not a beginner musician, and music theory definitely helps. But muscle memory from guitar and banjo somewhat contradicts. I still miss frets because my hands expect different spacing and shapes. Double strings add their own complexity, and nails matter much more than I expected. Overconfidence is useless here. Better to learn slowly and correctly.
3. A lot of the best resources, lessons, and discussions are only available in Spanish, which I don’t speak fluently. One book I would recommend, though, is Durán & Pedrotti Método de Charango, since there is also an English version available.
4. What surprised me the most is that there doesn’t seem to be one strict “correct” learning path. You can start from very different songs. It is not like following a rigid curriculum but rather familiarizing with a living musical tradition through actual playing. Charango feels less academic and more alive. I really like that.
5. A teacher helps a lot. I managed to find an online teacher from Argentina. During the very first lesson, he immediately pointed out that I was doing repique completely wrong. Honestly, even that alone made the lesson worth it. Much better to fix bad technique early than spend months practicing mistakes.

And finally, here’s a small video of me working on repique.
A lot of work ahead, but this instrument is incredibly beautiful.

https://reddit.com/link/1t4muvh/video/dpf34uisvczg1/player

Hello all! I have a Ronrocco that I bought from a luthier, and it needs restringing. My problem is that i am in Australia, and buying strings online is quite expensive. So my question is, is it possible for me to buy singular strings from my local guitar shop, and string it myself?

Is it a matter of just buying the right gauge?

Or is it just best to fork out for a set of strings online?

Thanks for your help!

Im kind of beginner n im considering getting the Argentinaian one just wanna the deference so i can make the right decision

Anyone know what instrument these are and where you can buy one? It looks and sounds kind of similar to a charango.

Hi fellow musicians! Greetings from Finland!

I recently had a spontaneous idea to buy a charango. It’s quite a rare instrument here in Northern Europe if that’s even the right way to describe it, but I got lucky and managed to get this beautiful charango made by Pedro Quispe Torres and shipped from Bolivia.

That said, I’m not a complete beginner in music. I have a background in classical guitar, and these days I play bluegrass banjo in a local folk band. So I’m familiar with arpeggios, strumming patterns, classical tremolo (on a single string), and techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc. I hope that helps me progress a bit faster on the charango.

However, I’ve realized that I’m a bit lost when it comes to where to actually begin learning the instrument.

What would you recommend as the first steps? Are there any “must-learn” beginner songs? For example, in bluegrass banjo, Cripple Creek is pretty much the first tune everyone learns since it’s simple, but very characteristic and fun to play. Is there something similar in the charango world?

Also, what about technique roadmap? Should I jump straight into learning tremolo (which seems very unique to the instrument), or are there more fundamental techniques I should focus on first?

So far, I’ve found a couple of books: Charango para todos by Héctor Soto and Método de Charango by Italo Pedrotti & Horacio Durán. They’re in Spanish, but Google helps. Both include plenty of arpeggio exercises and sheet music, which I think I can work through.

Eventually I will find an online teacher to sort things out but I’d also really appreciate any advice or guidance.

Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for any recommendations for charango music, all time greats and deep cuts very welcome. So far I've only really listened to stuff like victor jara, violeta para (her son was quite the player), inti illimani and luzmila carpio. One of the best sounds to me, I'm getting one tomorrow and wanted a little more inspiration, thanks all.

How would you mic a charango for live performances other than just sticking a mic in front of it? I'm looking into a few options but not sure what is typical for charangos. Having a luthier cut a chunk out of the body to install one of those bar piezos on the bridge seems a bit invasive for how small the body is. Otherwise I was looking to install some of those contact piezos on the inside. But that's also quite hard to get inside the body to put them behind the bridge where they should go. I'm wondering what the standard way of micing charangos usually is?

Alguien sabe donde puedo encontrar la partitura de la rosa y el volcan de ernesto cavour?, gracias de antemano

Anyone know what kind of charango this is? It looks like a charanguito but the frets and neck look slightly larger. Any clue?

Hey folks,

Just shared a new reel with some of my recent compositions — cinematic stuff built around the ronroco, guitars, and ambient textures.

Would love to know what you think: Ronroco Original Compositions Reel 2025 – SoundCloud

Also made some tabs for these pieces if anyone wants to try the instrument: roman.musica.ar/tienda

Cheers,
Román

I had a Bolivian Ronroco (49cm) scale tuned to the Argentinian tuning with the wrong set of strings, (around 20% extra tension) how likely is it that it damaged the instrument after being tuned this way for two days?

This is a Bolivian Ronroco (49 cm I think) but with the Argentinian tuning. It’s what I’m looking for in terms of specifications and it’s made from naranjillo and Bolivian rosewood I think.

I’m looking for and instrument to play stuff like the last of us them so more sustain and warmth, this video playing it doesn’t exactly convince me but maybe it’s because it’s a phone video and a different style. What do you guys think?