"El Requinto" in Bachata

A requinto is a guitar that has six nylon strings and is smaller than a standard guitar. It was these types of instruments that bachata guitarists such as Edilio Paredes and others used to record the early bachatas beginning in the early 60's. Go in search for music from artists such as Ramon Cordero, Jose Manuel Calderon, Rafael Encarnacion, Luis Segura, Augusto Santos, and Leonardo Paniagua to hear great examples of such guitar work. "El Requinto" is also the term used to refer to the lead guitar in bachata, no matter if that instrument is a standard acoustic or electric guitar or the smaller nylon stringed requinto.

Today, when one hears the bright, rhythmic, unique sound of the bachata lead guitar in modern bachata, it is hard for a new listener to picture what instrument is making the sound. Many think that because of the high pitch it must be a small guitar, or a different instrument altogether, yet today bachata is mostly recorded on standard sized, steel string guitars. These guitars may be acoustic or electric and as mentioned above they are referred to as the "requito". To achieve the distinctive "bachata" sound musicians use a capo which is a device used on the neck of a stringed (typically fretted) instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. Also, musicians often run the guitar through an effects pedals to alter the sound.

To get an idea of how effects on the guitar can alter the sound check out a Joan Soriano's new album "El Duque de la Bachata" which is a modern bachata lead guitar with a natural sound. This is the CD that accompanies the documentary film I did on him. This can be compared to Joan's previous album "Vocales de Amor" which had more effect in the guitar. This way you can compare the same musician playing yet with two distinctive sounds.

Another factor that has greatly influenced the sound of the lead guitar as compared to the early years is the recording process. Today songs can be recorded note for note, using multiple channels and takes. In the early days recordings were often done with two microphones, one for the singer and the other for the musicians. It was difficult, if you didn't get the take right you had to go back and try the whole thing again! So there were disadvantages to that way of recording but there is no doubt there was a raw freshness to it, a sense of life and breath.

Unless you are roaming the streets of the Dominican Republic asking around corner to corner it can be difficult to find early bachata music. iASO Records has put out an excellent compilation of early bachata called Bachata Roja and will be releasing another compilation soon which I will review here.

For more info on the requinto of early bachata I did a video interview with Edilio Paredes talking about the requito and its use in early bachata.