The charango is a small, 10-stringed, fretted instrument from Bolivia.
Like many stringed instruments of the area, they owe their development to sailors. The Spanish brought over their vihuelas (a small guitar-like instrument) and these were adapted by the native Bolivians. It is often said that the charango became so popular as it was easy for the locals - whose traditional music had been banned - to hid the instrument under their ponchos should any Spaniard appear.
The charango’s ten string are arranged in four courses (i.e. a pair of strings for each note). They are tuned to GCEAE with all the strings in unison apart from the central E.
The charango is traditionally made from the shell of an armadillo - and you can still buy charangos that are made of armadillo shells. However, today it is much more common for you find charagos for sale that are made purely of wood.
Charangos are great fun to play, portable and have a lively sound. They’re a fantastic instrument for anyone to learn.