Raymond Thevenot

Andean flute is a performance-driven folk genre centered on the indigenous aerophones of the Central Andes—above all the siku/zampoña (panpipes), quena/khena (end-blown notch flute), and their lower-pitched relatives (quenacho, toyo). Ensembles often combine interlocking panpipe parts with charango, guitar, bombo and hand percussion, creating bright, breathy textures and danceable ostinatos. While the instruments and repertories are pre‑Columbian, the genre name in recorded music coalesced during the 1960s–1970s global folk revival, when Andean groups toured internationally and the sound entered world/"new age" markets. Melodies frequently use pentatonic or anhemitonic scales, parallel fourths and fifths, drones, and the characteristic hocketing between paired siku rows (ira/arca). Rhythms draw on huayno, sikuri, sanjuanito and other regional dances, ranging from lilting 6/8 to driving 2/4 with hemiola.

Música andina (Andean music) is a pan‑regional folk tradition of the South American Andes that blends pre‑Columbian Indigenous sound worlds with colonial string instruments and urban folk revivals. Typical ensembles feature panpipes (siku/zampoña), notched flutes (quena), small 10‑string lutes (charango), guitars, and large drums (bombo). Melodies often use pentatonic and modal scales (Aeolian/Dorian), parallel fourths and fifths, and antiphonal “hocketing” between matched panpipe parts. Repertoires draw on local dance‑song forms such as huayno, sanjuanito, carnavalito, saya, and tinku, each with distinctive grooves and tempos. From mid‑20th‑century urban centers the style crystallized into a recognizable pan‑Andean sound that traveled globally, while remaining rooted in Quechua and Aymara languages, community festivities, and ritual calendars.

Guitarra andina (Peruvian Andean guitar) is a solo and ensemble guitar tradition that adapts Andean song–dance genres—especially huayno, yaraví, pasacalle and carnavales—to the tonal palette and techniques of the Spanish/Western classical guitar. Its modern concert form coalesced in Ayacucho, Peru, where exponents began arranging rural and urban Andean repertoires for nylon‑string guitar using arpeggios, tremolo, bordoneo (bass–melody accompaniment), rasgueos and counterpoint to evoke harp and charango textures. The result is a poetic, intimate sound that can swing between festive dance rhythms and meditative, nostalgic laments. Key figures such as Raúl García Zárate and Manuelcha Prado helped codify and internationalize the style from the mid‑20th century onward.