Knowra Ukulele Ukulele The ukulele is a small, four-stringed plucked instrument developed in Hawaii from Portuguese stringed instruments. Its bright sound and compact form distinguish it from the guitar.
Ukulele tuning : The assignment of pitches to a ukulele’s strings, commonly G–C–E–A in standard tuning. Reentrant G tuning places the fourth string above the neighboring C string, shaping the familiar sound.
Madeiran machete : A small four-stringed Portuguese instrument from Madeira, played with rapid finger movements. Its form and playing tradition helped shape the ukulele brought to Hawaii.
Ukulele fingerpicking : A ukulele playing technique in which individual strings are plucked with separate fingers. It allows melody, bass notes, and harmony to sound together on the instrument.
Guitar : A fretted string instrument, commonly with six strings, played by plucking or strumming. The guitar has a larger body, longer scale, and more strings than the ukulele.
Ukulele chords : Combinations of notes played together on a ukulele, usually formed by fretting several strings. Compact chord shapes let players accompany songs with relatively little left-hand movement.
Braguinha : A small four-stringed string instrument originating on Madeira, also known as the machete. This Portuguese instrument is among the direct ancestors associated with the ukulele’s development.
Ukulele ensemble : A group performance using multiple ukuleles, often divided among melody, harmony, and bass parts. Different sizes and parts let the instrument function beyond solo song accompaniment.
Charango : A small Andean string instrument, traditionally made with ten strings arranged in five courses. Its compact size resembles the ukulele, but its paired-string courses and Andean origins differ.
Ukulele strumming : A technique for sounding multiple ukulele strings in rhythmic strokes with a finger or pick. Upward and downward strokes create the rhythmic patterns common in ukulele accompaniment.
João Fernandes : A Madeiran musician who arrived in Hawaii in 1879 aboard the immigrant ship Ravenscrag. His lively playing of Portuguese string instruments helped introduce their sound to Hawaiian audiences.
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