Listen to the tres
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the tres makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the tres belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
The tres (Spanish for three) is a three-course chordophone of Cuban origin. The most widespread variety of the instrument is the original Cuban tres with six strings. Its sound has become a defining characteristic of the Cuban son and it is commonly played in a variety of Afro-Cuban genres. In the 1930s, the instrument was adapted into the Puerto Rican tres, which has nine strings and a body similar to that of the cuatro.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a tres sound like?
Listen to 3 recordings on this page. As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the tres?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-5).
Sources & credits
- Tren pasando por el Corredor Tres Centurias by Luis Alvaz – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Claude Debussy, Quatuor a cordes, op.10 - IV. Très modéré - Très mouvementé et avec… – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Claude Debussy, Quatuor a cordes, op.10 - IV. Très modéré - Très mouvementé et avec… – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q139727 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Tres (instrument) – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by dblackadder – CC BY-SA 2.0