Which instrument originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of a small guitar-like instrument taken there by Portuguese immigrants?
Ukulele Ukulele The ukulele ( ; from "OO-koo-LEH-leh"; variant: ukelele) is a member of the lute family of instruments. It generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings. Some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings. The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian adaptation of the Portuguese machete, a small guitar-like instrument, which was introduced to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, mainly from Madeira and the Azores. It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century and from there spread internationally.
Portuguese guitar Portuguese guitar The Portuguese guitar or Portuguese guitarra (, ) is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six courses of two strings. It is one of the few musical instruments that still uses Preston tuners. It is most notably associated with the musical genre known as Fado. The Portuguese guitar now known has undergone considerable technical modification in the last century (dimensions, mechanical tuning system, etc.) although it has kept the same number of courses, the string tuning and the finger technique characteristic of this type of instrument. It is a descendant of the Medieval citole,