In verdiales, we can find instruments from the strings and percussion families, in addition to singing and dancing. In this subsection each instrument will be described and analysed depending on its function. 

''PANDERO'

As one of the most important aspects of verdiales is the rhythm, the main instrument responsible for this will be introduced first: the 'pandero'. With the appearance of a tambourine, it is probably one of the most archaic instruments since there are remains and testimonies of this instrument from ancient times1. 
There is never more than one pandero in a group. This instrument is handcrafted by people from the tradition itself and is made of materials such as goatskin, wood and rattles. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer people who make this instrument, so most of the current panderos are inherited or obtained through sale and purchase of former musicians. 

VIOLIN

Finally, the most important instrument of all the strings (and probably of the whole panda): the violin. Its role is so essential that many groups used to be called after the name of the violinist. It is responsible for the melodic part of the music but also for leading the whole group: the violinist decides when to start playing and when to stop. It also has the duty to accompany the singers as well as possible, adapting his way of playing and improvising the melodies to support the singer and achieve a good duet.
As with the lute and the bandurria, only the three highest strings are played on the violin, since it is believed that the instrument used before the violin was the rabel, which originally had three strings2.

Although it is the most important instrument, the sound of the violin can get lost among so many other instruments. Therefore, it is common to use double stops, usually an open string accompanying the melody. When the open strings do not fit in with the harmony, it is possible to play fifths. 

SINGING AND DANCING

Singing is probably the easiest and at the same time the most difficult element to explain. There is no preset way of singing as long as you sing in the right place rhythmically speaking, so every singer has his or her own style. However, since the advent of recordings and the internet, it is more difficult to find people with their own style.
The fragment that is sung, called 'copla', is made up of four octosyllabic verses. When singing, the first and last lines are repeated, making a total of six lines. Sometimes, instead of repeating the last line, it is possible to sing a different one. There is also the option of improvising or creating your own lyrics. The subject matter ranges from love, to everyday activities in the countryside, to fun and fairs... Below, you can read an example of a copla with its English translation:

'En la mirada un extraño,                             'In their look something rare,

tienen todas las mujeres,                             all women have

en la mirada un extraño,                               in their look something rare,

que cuando miran a un hombre                   when they look in a man's eye

de vida le quita un año'.                               of his life they take off a year.'

Singers in a group do not just sing, they usually dance or play an instrument and, in the meantime, sing. In general, the members of the panda are able to play practically all instruments, as well as dance and sing, but each one chooses what he or she likes best or is best at.  

And finally, the last element of the verdiales: the dance. There are three different ways of dancing: in pairs, in groups of three or the flag dance.
Dancing in pairs or in groups of three are pretty similar: there are a lot of dance steps that you learn beforehand from other dancers or in schools and you just have to combine them. One of the dancers takes the lead in choosing those steps, although you do not have to agree beforehand on who will be the leader. 

While they dance, they play castanets decorated with long coloured ribbons, creating a beautiful effect with the movements and turns of the dance. You can also find men who dance with napkins instead of castanets, probably because of old prejudices in which castanets with ribbons would be considered too 'feminine' or because they simply did not have any castanets at hand and took what was closest to them, a napkin.
Originally, the dance was the perfect moment to flirt with or romance someone special. There was a time when men had to ask young girls' mothers for permission to dance.
The other type of dance is the flag dance. In this one, the dancers hold a Spanish and/or Andalusian flag and do a kind of flag dance as a sign of presentation. The flag usually has embroidery and sometimes an image of a Virgin. This type of dance or flag-waving is very common in other traditions in Spain, but also in other Mediterranean regions such as Italy3.

GUITAR

The guitar is a well-known instrument in Spanish folklore and verdiales is not an exception. The main function of the guitar is to complement the harmony with bass sounds and full chords. There are two ways of playing the guitar in verdiales: plucking and strumming. Since they are not professional players, nor do they pretend to be, they do not use plectrums or take special care of their nails. The plucking technique is used in old Spanish music and traditions since the Arabs brought instruments such as the lute or the vihuela, which are played in this way4.

Depending on who you ask, you will hear different opinions about how many guitars should play in a group. Old members of the tradition argue that two is more than enough, otherwise the violin would not be easily heard5; whereas younger guitarists believe that three or four guitars enrich the sound mass of the group. If you ask me, I honestly believe that two guitars are enough. The violin is supposed to be the main instrument in the group, responsible of the melodic part, supporting the singer and leading the entire group; so including more guitars would just make the violin function more difficult. 

THE CONCH SHELL

This peculiar instrument is made from a seashell with coloured ribbons and used to be used to warn the listeners that the verdiales group was arriving.
Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, this tradition is not done anymore, although some pandas like to use the conch shell on special occasions even when it is not necessary.

Around a century ago, instruments were out of reach for people living in rural areas due to lack of builders and money. Only the more affluent or those who were especially good at verdiales had 'normal' instruments, either inherited or bought. During the interviews of two verdiales musicians, Antonio Romero Ponce6 and Juan Morales Palma7,  I learnt it was the musicians themselves who tried to build their own instruments. In order to get as close as possible to the real instruments, they used to try different materials. According to their testimonies, these are some examples of alternative instruments:

- Pieces of tiles instead of cymbals.
- Violin soundbox with a gunpowder can instead of wood. As Antonio Romero explained in our conversation, they chose specifically this kind of can because, after trying over time, they found it sounded better than other containers.
- Broken and cracked guitars glued together with tape.
- Violin and guitar strings made of steel wire or fishing line.
- Guitar capo made from a twig of broom.
- The flag for the dance was, in the best cases, a flag without embroidery. Normally, they used to dance with a sack.
- The tambourine is probably the only instrument that was built the way it was supposed to be.

These are just a few examples of how verdiales musicians managed to do all that was needed to be able to play and enjoy their tradition. Thanks to their inventiveness, these musicians fought poverty and lack of resources for the survival of verdiales. 

'PLATILLOS'

Accompanying the pandero in the rhythmic responsibility, we have a kind of cymbals with ancient origins called 'platillos'. There are cymbals on display in different museums such as the Louvre or the Vatican Museum that come from Egypt and Palestine (2300 - 1400 BC)8.

This is an instrument shared by many other traditions in Spain: Málaga, fandangos from all parts of Spain, Murcia or Castilla La Mancha.

Platillos players in verdiales, which are usually two per group, are required to have great resistance and rhythmic stability. 

LUTE AND BANDURRIA

The lute and the bandurria are only played in one of the three styles of the verdiales, the Comares style, causing its exclusion from the tradition until the middle of the last century9. In addition to contributing to the harmonic function of the guitars, these instruments often play the melody with the violin, making this style much more melodic and richer in sound too. 

Only the four highest strings of these instruments are played, probably as a consequence of the previous Arabic lute which only had four strings, making obvious the Arab influence10 in verdiales.

In this case, the players use a plectrum because of the conditions of the instrument itself. Both instruments are played the same way, the only difference is the size, and in consequence, the pitch.
There is usually one of each instrument in a panda, although some groups skip the bandurria.

Video recording 6. The violin. Antonio Romero (2023). Seguimos con el violín: la quinta. Youtube channel: Tu escuela de verdiales. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/u5-VagLtiPY Last visit: 09/02/2023