Cavaquinho
small plucked string instrument of the European guitar family
The cavaquinho (pronounced [kavɐˈkiɲu] in Portuguese) is a small string instrument of the European guitar family with four wire or gut strings. Its standard tuning is D, G, B, D. Other tunings include D-A-B-E (Portuguese old tuning, made popular by Júlio Pereira) and G-G-B-D and A-A-C#-E. Guitarists often use D-G-B-E tuning to imitate the highest four strings of the guitar. The G-C-E-A tuning is sometimes used to imitate the soprano/tenor ukulele, an instrument developed from the cavaquinhos that the Portuguese took to Hawaii in the late 19th century.
