Re: Difference between Ukelele and Cavaquinho?

nono,

Though the modern ukulele is closer to the "cavaquinho" played in
regional portuguese music, the cavaquinho played in Brazil today is an
"evolution" (in the scientific sense) of the instrument that was
probably brought from the Madeira Islands. In essence they are two
different instruments. Some disagree with me, but if it does not talk
like a duck, nor it walks like a duck...

The timbre, tuning, woods, and shape are substantially different in
the cavaquinho when you compare it with the ukulele. Once you have a
chance to play both, you will know what I'm talking about.

If you are to buy an off-the-shelf cavaquinho, I would recommend
Giannini's. They are not the best, but are better than Rozzini's for
finishing, holding tuning, and sound. However, as with any other
string instrument, a good luthier made cavaquinho can't be beat. The
best site with references for those is out (www.bandolim.cjb.net), so
I'll own you this one.

I assume you intend to play choro and samba, I would also recommend
the book "A escola moderna do cavaquinho" by Henrique Cazes, one of
the greatest cavaquinistas. The book is published by Editora Lumiar.
It is a slim but comprehensive method with some music, and good drills
and exercises. If I can give you an advice, try to hold the temptation
of going the easy path (natural tuning d-g-b-e) and play it with the
traditional tuning of d-g-b-d.

If you want to see a little more of the traditional Portuguese
cavaquinho, in the link below you can find a nice sample of all the
different guitars used in Portuguese music: http://www.jose-lucio.com/Pagina2/Sons%20e%20tons.PDF
- note that, despite what's said in this page, the traditional tuning
of the cavaquinho in Brazil is D-G-B-D, as I mentioned above.

Have fun,
Fred



On Jun 17, 9:41 pm, nono <nigelinsouthamer...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Jun 17, 5:50 pm, Daniella Thompson <danit...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:



People in Brazil asked the same question and received these answers:

http://br.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061007105833AAXfR1a

O ukulele tem uma afinação padrão diferente - sol-dó-mi-lá (o sol,
quarta corda, é mais agudo que o dó, terceira corda) - e usa
normalmente encordoamento de nylon.

Translation: The ukulele is tuned differently -- the G (fourth) string
has a higher sound than the C (third) string -- and utilizes nylon
strings.

http://forum.cifraclub.terra.com.br/forum/9/104801/

O Ukelele utiliza afinação aberta em G com cordas de nylon, o
espaçamento entre as cordas é maior que o do cavaquinho na região da
ponte, o corpo do ukelele é mais esbelto e feito em koa, madeira
típica do Hawaii, que dá a característica tradicional do som desse
instrumento.

Translation: The ukulele has an open tuning in G with nylon strings,
the spacing between the strings is wider than in the cavaquinho, and
the ukulele's body is more svelte and made of Hawaiian koa wood, which
gives the ukulele its characteristic traditional sound.

--
Daniella
_______

Daniella Thompson on Brazil:
The Magazine of
Brazilian Music & Culturehttp://daniv.blogspot.com



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