Cavaquinho

The cavaquinho is a small string instrument of the European guitar family with four wire or gut strings. A cavaquinho player is called a cavaquista. The most common tuning is D-G-B-D; other tunings include D-A-B-E and G-G-B-D and A-A-C#-E. Guitarists often use D-G-B-E tuning to emulate the highest four strings of the guitar. The G-C-E-A tuning is sometimes used to emulate the soprano/tenor ukulele, an instrument developed from the braguinha and rajão, brought to Hawai'i by Portuguese immigrants, from Madeira Island, in the late 19th century.