RSSSpanish and African musical heritage is commonly echoed in Puerto Rican music and instruments. In addition to these Taino traditions also played a role in the formation of Puerto Rican folk music. The music is complemented by folk music like salsa, bombe y plene and meringue, all of which can be witnessed during the various festivals through out the year.
Instruments
Four different instruments were adapted from the six-string Spanish guitar such as requinto, the bordonua, the cuatro and the triple, each of which produces a unique tone and pitch. Most of the compositions are written for cuatro, a guitar-like instrument with 10 strings that are arranged in five different pairs. It originally had four pairs, hence the name cuatro, but by 1875 five pairs were in common use. It is usually carved from solid blocks of laurel wood and known for resonances and pitches different from those produced by its Spanish counterpart.
African influenced instruments can also be found on the island in the form of percussion instruments. Tambours are drums made from hollowed out tree trunks and covered with stretched-out animal skin. Maracas are gourds filled with pebbles or dried beans and mounted on handle, and make a rattling sound commonly heard in the carnival. The African beats harmoniously accompany the Spanish-influenced guitars.
Bombe y Plene
bomba y plena are actually two entirely different types of music that are coupled with dance. Bomba is pure African was brought over by black slaves who worked on the island's sugar plantations in the 17th century. It's a rhythmic music using barrel-shapped drums covered with tightly stretched animal skins and played by hand. Bomba is described as a dialogue between dancer and drummer, a rhythmic duel. Plena blends elements from Puerto Ricans' wide cultural backgrounds, including music that the Taíno tribes may have used during their ceremonies. Instruments used in plena include the güiro, a dried-out gourd whose surface is cuts with parallel grooves and, when rubbed with a stick, produces a raspy and rhythmical percussive noise. To the güiro and cuatro added the tambourine, known as panderos, originally derived from Africa.
Salsa
Salsa is the rhythm of the islands and literally means the "sauce" that makes parties happen. Originally developed within the Puerto Rican community of New York, it draws heavily from the musical roots of the Cuban and the African-Caribbean experience. Its rhythms are hot, urban, rhythmically sophisticated, and compel you to dance. Salsa bands require access to a huge array of percussion instruments, including güiros, the gourds on which the Taíno people may have played music. Other instruments include maracas, bongos, timbales, conga drums, and claves -and, to add the jíbaro (hillbilly) touch, a clanging cow bell.
