Bajo Sexto vs Bajo Quinto: Tuning, Range and Musical Roles

Taylor’s Somos Collection explanation identifies the bajo quinto as a Mexican guitar-family instrument with ten steel strings in five doubled courses. It describes the bajo sexto as the related twelve-string, six-course instrument, with the quinto omitting the lowest E course.

The names are useful when heard alongside that construction. “Quinto” corresponds here to five courses, and “sexto” to six. A course contains two strings intended to be played as a unit, so five courses do not mean five individual strings.

The same Taylor explanation places the bajo quinto in Norteño music and describes accompaniment with bass guitar and accordion. That gives musical context without making one arrangement compulsory for every ensemble.

A photograph can show the number of strings, but it cannot establish their pitches. Modified instruments and custom voicings need their own description. This article compares the conventional family distinction using identifiable string-maker tuning examples.

The note charts for D’Addario’s EJS86 bajo sexto set and EJS85 bajo quinto set document the pitch pairs below. The source charts list them in the opposite direction; this table reads from lowest course to highest.

The letter names the note; the number identifies its octave register. E2 is one octave above E1. A1 and A2 are therefore two A pitches in different registers, while two G2 strings are intended to sound in unison.

The plus sign groups the partners rather than defining which string sits first across the neck. The map also describes these documented examples, not an instruction to install either named set on any instrument with the matching string count.

In these examples, the sexto offers E1 below the quinto’s lowest open A1. That is additional available range. It can supply a lower note when a part calls for one, but a player can also leave that course silent.

Think of an accompaniment containing a low-register movement. On the sexto, the E course becomes one possible part of the phrase. On the quinto, the player works within a different lowest-course layout or chooses another voicing. The song and technique determine how that difference is used.

An extra course does not require every chord to include it. Including a low note, omitting it or changing the rhythm are musical decisions. The instrument’s capacity and the notes actually played should be described separately.

This distinction helps when listening to an ensemble. If another instrument is carrying the bass part, ask how the paired-string accompaniment relates to it: does it follow, leave space or contribute a separate movement? The answer comes from that performance, not simply from the word sexto.

A conventional guitar uses E, A, D, G, B and E as its main open-string note names. The bajo sexto reference uses E, A, D, G, C and F, and the quinto retains the upper five of those bajo courses. The octave numbers also distinguish their lower registers.

For a guitarist, the change from G–B in ordinary guitar tuning to G–C in this bajo layout is especially relevant. The bajo course names proceed in fourths, whereas the guitar’s G-to-B relationship is a major third. A familiar guitar chord shape therefore cannot be assumed to produce the same harmony.

The conventional twelve-string guitar example documented by D’Addario’s EXL150 chart also differs in pairing: its lower four courses use octaves and its two highest use unisons. The bajo sexto example has three octave courses followed by three unison courses.

String count alone thus misses both the note layout and the interval within a pair. The same number of strings can serve a different register and musical role. Use the tuning to understand a part before transferring a fingering from another instrument.

When listening to a bajo part, start with its rhythm. Notice where strokes fall, how long chords ring and where the player leaves silence. Then listen for the movement of the lower notes and the relationship to the melody.

In an accordion-and-bass setting such as the one described in Taylor’s overview, identify the parts separately. What is the accordion doing? Which notes belong to the bass? What does the bajo accompaniment add between or beneath them?

These questions keep the listening tied to a performance. An instrument can contribute rhythm, chord voicing or a lower movement without having to perform all of those functions throughout a song.

If you are learning a particular regional style, work with recordings and instruction from musicians in that tradition. A tuning table explains the available notes. It does not supply the stylistic phrasing, rhythmic approach or repertoire by itself.

Start with an instrument whose intended tuning and string configuration are documented. If the instrument is unfamiliar or modified, establish its supported setup with the maker or a qualified technician before changing strings or pitches.

Sound each course slowly and name the main note. Follow the chart from low to high, then reverse the direction. This begins to connect the names on the page with the positions under your hands.

Next isolate the partners on one octave course and one unison course. Hear the difference between two registers of the same note and two strings at the same intended pitch. Return to playing each pair together.

Choose a short phrase using the shared A, D, G, C and F layout. Learn where the melody or chord notes fall instead of importing a six-string shape unexamined. A teacher can help adapt the fingering and accompaniment to the instrument.

On a sexto, explore a simple phrase that includes the E course, then a version that leaves it silent. Listen to what changes in register and texture. This is a learning exercise, not a declaration that one version is more authentic or more useful in every song.

Finally practise a phrase with rests. Stopping the paired strings deliberately helps you hear the rhythm you are creating. More available notes do not remove the need to choose when the instrument should be silent.

Keep the conclusion as specific as the exercise. If one version works better in a particular arrangement, describe that arrangement and what changed. The observation does not establish a universal winner between sexto and quinto.

The documented maps are a reference for understanding the families. They should not erase custom tunings or specialised designs. When discussing such an instrument, identify what is actually fitted and how it is intended to be tuned.

Removing the lowest course from a particular sexto, or adding strings to another instrument, is not established by this comparison as a suitable conversion. The maker’s design, hardware and setup requirements still apply. Likewise, an ordinary twelve-string guitar set is not automatically a bajo replacement set.

For day-to-day tuning, use a method that confirms the intended octave as well as the letter name. Guitar tuners explained provides the general input and reading principles; the instrument’s documented map supplies the target notes.

The central distinction is easy to remember once the maps are clear: the sexto reference adds a lowest E course to the five shared courses. Understanding the registers and pairings helps you hear what the player is doing, while the arrangement explains why those notes are being used.

To explore another paired-string guitar layout, continue with 12-string acoustic guitar. Keep each instrument’s tuning and musical context attached to the comparison.