Cavaquinho: Brazilian musical instrument

The cavaquinho is a small string instrument of the European guitar category that has four wire or gut strings. This instrument is also called “machimbo, machim or machete” in the potuguese local language and can also be called “manchete or marchete, braguinha or braguinho or cavaco and ukulele in the Hawaii local language. The common tuning for this instrument is D-G-B-D, other tuning may include D-A-B-E and G-G-B-D as well as A-A-C#-E.

source: geocaching.com

The origins of the Portuguese musical instrument are not easily discovered. Goncalo Sampaaio, the man that explains that the survival of Minho region’s archaic Hellenistic modes by possible Greek influences on the old Gallaeci of the region, opines the relationship between this instrument and the historical Hellenistic tetrachords. The author said that the cavaquinho and the guitar could have been imported to Braga by the Biscayans.

They are different types of cavaquinho: the minhoto cavaquinho that is associated with the minho region in Portugal, it has long neck on the same level as the body and the sound hole is often in the raia design and the Brazilian cavaquinho that is associated with Lisbon and Madeira, it varies from the minhoto in that the neck is elevated in relation to the body and the sound hole is culturally round and so it is more like the traditional guitar.

This musical instrument is very important in the Brazilian music especially for samba and choro. The standard tuning of this instrument in Brazil is D-G-B-D. Some of the most crucial players and composers of the instrument’s Brazilian incarnation are; Paulinho Soares, Mauro Diniz, Paulinho da Viola, Henriquez CAzes and Waldir Azevedo. The samba cavaco is the link between the rhythm and hamony sections. Playing the rhythm comping is done with a pick, with a cultured percussive strumming beats.

The musical instrument is found in some other places where the Portuguese left an imprint like the Cape Verde and the USA and was turned to an important part of the popular music of those places. The ukulele that is used by the Hawaiian island is very similar to the cavaquinho. It was imported to the islands by the Portuguese immigrants. The ukulele also has four strings but tuned differently in its own way, it has a similar shape to the cavaquinho. It was during the 15^th century that the cavaquinho came into Africa by the hand of the Portuguese sailors.