Tres

Tres Cubano

A Tres Cubano.
String instrument
Other names	Cuban Tres, Tres Guitar
Classification	String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	(Composite chordophone)
Developed	Cuba
Related instruments
Guitar, Cuatro, Laud

The tres is a 3-course, 6-string chordophone which was created in Cuba. A tres player is called a tresero in Cuba and a tresista in Puerto Rico.^[1]

Cuban tres

A closeup of the string arrangement.

In Cuba, the son was created as a song and a salon dance genre. Originally, a guitar, tiple or bandola, played rhythm and lead in the son, but ultimately these were replaced by a new native-born instrument which was a fusion of all three called the Cuban Tres.

The Cuban tres has three courses (groups) of two strings each for a total of six strings. From the low pitch to the highest, the principal tuning is in C Major: G, C, E. However, today many treseros are playing a step up A, D, F# or D Major.

Puerto Rican tres

A Puerto Rican tres.

The Puerto Rican Tres was created from the Cuban Tres. Unlike the Cuban variety, which has a guitar-like shape, the Puerto Rican tres is shaped like a Puerto Rican Cuatro, with cut outs.

The Puerto Rican tres has 9 strings in 3 courses and is tuned G4 G3 G4, C4 C4 C4, E4 E3 E4.

Players of the Puerto Rican tres are called tresistas.

References

• The Cuatro Project: The Tres in Puerto Rico and Cuba.
• The Cuatro Project: The tres in Puerto Rico.
• The stringed instrument database: T.

Further reading

• Richards, Tobe A. (2007). The Tres Cubano Chord Dictionary: C Major Tuning 648 Chords. United Kingdom: Cabot Books. ISBN 978-1-906207-03-8.  — A comprehensive chord dictionary instructional guide.
• Richards, Tobe A. (2007). The Tres Cubano Chord Dictionary: D Major Tuning 648 Chords. United Kingdom: Cabot Books. ISBN 978-1-906207-04-5.  — A comprehensive chord dictionary instructional guide.
• Griffin, Jon (2007). El Tres Cubano with CD (Audio) (Book & CD) (Paperback). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-8256-3324-9.  — An instructional guide (in Spanish and English)

See also

Guitar portal

• Stringed instrument tunings

External links

• Cuban Tres - The 3 String Guitar Instrument from Cuba
• The Cuban Tres
• The Tres in Cuba and Puerto Rico
• Tres Magic on Havana’s Malecon by Irina Echarry, Havana Times, May 7, 2009
• Havana: The Music of the Cricket by Sheila Burns, The Guardian, May 19, 2009
• The Cuban Tres maker