Timple

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The timple is a traditional five-string plucked string instrument of the Canary Islands.^[1] It started being manufactured in the 19th century.^[2]

In La Palma island and in the north of the island of Tenerife, many timple players omit the first (D) string, in order to play the timple as a four-string ukulele, though this is considered less traditional by players and advocates of the five-string version. The players of the four-string style, in return, say that they are simply playing the timple in the old-fashioned way from before the time when a fifth string was introduced in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.^{[citation needed]} The common tuning is GCEAD.

Notable timple players (timplistas) are Benito Cabrera (Lanzarote), Germán López (Gran Canaria), José Antonio Ramos, Totoyo Millares, and Pedro Izquierdo (Tenerife).