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The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small string instrument in the European family, with four wires or gut strings.

A cavaquinho player is called a cavaquista.


Tuning
A common in is C G A D (non-reentrant with C being the lowest pitch, or from lower to higher pitches).

The standard tuning in is D G B D.

Other tunings include:

  • D A B EPortuguese ancient tuning, made popular by Júlio Pereira, reentrant with A being the lowest pitch
  • G G B D
  • A A C  E
  • D G B E – used for solo parts in
  • G D A E tuning
  • G C E A – ‘ cavacolele’ tuning, the same as the soprano/tenor
  • D G B E – the same as the highest four strings in standard , often used by guitarists, and the same tuning used for the


Forms
There are several forms of cavaquinho used in different regions and for different styles of music. Separate varieties are named for , ( braguinha), ( minhoto), , , , and ; other forms are the braguinha, ‘ cavacolele’, cavaco, machete, and .


Machete and braguinha
The machete is a variety of the cavaquinho from . It is a predecessor of the modern . The Machete de Braga (“-style ”) is called a braguinha.


Minhoto
The minhoto cavaquinho, associated with the Minho region in is similar to the . Its neck is on the same level as the body. Like the , the minhoto's was traditionally shaped like a stylized ray (fish); the shape is called “ raia” in Portuguese.


International use
Different forms of cavaquinho have been adapted in different regions. Varieties used outside of are found in , , and . The locally iconic cuatro family and the were both adapted from the cavaquinho.


Brazil
The cavaquinho is slightly larger than the Portuguese cavaquinho, resembling a small . Its neck is raised above the level of the , and the sound hole is usually round, like cavaquinhos from and .

The cavaquinho is a very important instrument in and music. It is played with a pick, with sophisticated percussive strumming beats that connect the rhythm and harmony by playing the rhythm “comping”. Some of the most important players and composers of the Brazilian instrument are , Paulinho da Viola, and .


Cape Verde
In the cavaquinho was introduced in the 1930s from Brazil. The present-day Cape-Verdean cavaquinho is very similar to the Brazilian one in dimensions and tuning. It is generally used as a rhythmic instrument in Cape-Verdean music genres (such as morna, , ) but it is occasionally used as a melodic instrument.


Hawaii
The also has four strings and a shape similar to the cavaquinho, although tuned differently – usually G C E A.

The is an iconic element of popular music, which spread to the continental United States in the early 20th century. It was developed from the braguinha and rajão, brought to in the late 19th century by Portuguese immigrants from .

The machete was introduced into Hawaii by Augusto Dias, Manuel Nunes, and João Fernandes in 1879, which further influenced the development of the ukulele.


Northern Latin America and the Caribbean
The cuatro is a family of larger 4-stringed instruments derived from the cavaquinho that are popular in Latin-American countries in and around the . Versions of the iconic Venezuelan cuatro are very similar to the Brazilian cavaquinho, with a neck laid level with the , like a Portuguese cavaquinho.


Origins
The origins of this instrument are elusive. Author Gonçalo Sampaio holds that the cavaquinho and the may have been brought to by the .

Sampaio explains ’s archaic and modes by possible survival of Greek influences on the ancient of the region, and stresses the link between this instrument and historical Hellenistic .


See also


Further reading
  • (2025). 9781906207090, Cabot Books.
    – A comprehensive chord dictionary instructional guide for the Brazilian and Portuguese cavaquinho.


External links
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