The tiple (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtiple], literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 10-string or 12-string chordophone of the guitar family, actually several instruments that share the name.

The Puerto Rican tiple characteristically has fewer strings, as do variants from Cuba, Mallorca, and North America.

The typical fretboard scale is about 530 mm (just under 21 inches), and the neck joins the body at the 12th fret.

The tiple is used for many traditional Colombian music genres including bambucos and pasillos.

This arrangement produces the set of harmonics that gives the instrument its unique voice.

These differences give it a generally thinner, higher-pitched sound than the tiple Colombiano, even though most of its tuning is in the same range as the larger instrument.

According to investigations made by Jose Reyes Zamora, the tiple in Puerto Rico dates back to the 18th century.

It has recently acquired a more or less fixed body shape narrowing at the top and having 5 metal strings (see the accompanying photo).

[6] On the Spanish Balearic island of Menorca, a tiple is an instrument with five single nylon strings.

Manufactured for a half century, the Martin tiple was used in jazz, blues and old-time country bands, and as a louder-volume ukulele.

[7] Similar instruments were made by Regal, Harmony, Lyon & Healy, Oscar Schmidt, D'Angelico and other companies during the early decades of Martin production.

The braguinha and the rajâo taken to Hawai'i by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira are the forerunners of the ukulele.

[14] The word "tiple" basically means "treble" or "high pitched", and has been used occasionally for the names of other instruments not directly members of the tiple-family proper.

The instrument is one of many zither variants marketed within the United States during the early 20th century, of which only the autoharp ever achieved lasting popularity.

The instrument, also known as the "Tremola", carries the "Hawaiian tiple" name solely for marketing purposes, as interest in Hawaiian music and culture was high in mainland America during the period when the instrument was marketed.