Europe (West)

Here is the first page of Europe, the Western side :
Spain, Portugal, Canary islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde, Ireland.

We start with the important guitar countries of Spain and Portugal, together with their islands in the Atlantic Ocean, on which similar instruments are played (including the Portuguese speaking Cape Verde, which would otherwise have been in the Africa page). Both Spain and Portugal "exported" in the 17th century their plucked instruments, which by then still had only 4 and 5 courses. This is the reason why so many South American instruments still have 4 or 5 double courses.
Also included in Western Europe is Ireland.
The other not mentioned countries in this area just have the normal guitars, lutes, banjos and mandolins, which can be found on the general instrument pages. For more ethnic folk instruments see also dulcimers (on page steelguitars).

Go to Europe East for the countries in the East : Russia, Hungaria, Croatia Go to Europe South for the area of the South : Albania, Greece, Italy, Sardinia, Corsica

The flamenco guitar is usually quite similar in size and appearence to the classical guitar (see guitars1). In general the difference will be that it is slightly lighter and therefore sounds a bit sharper.

The typical flamenco guitar will have golpeadors - some kind of protection (scratch plate) of the front, because part of the playing is tapping with the right hand ringfinger on the front. This scratch plate can be bright white, or nowadays just clear plastic. The placing of the golpeadors is not standard : sometimes more around the top of the soundhole, and sometimes on both sides (left and right).

To make the guitar lighter, friction pegs were prefered to the machine tuners. The sides and back of the body were made of lighter coloured woods, often cypress.

The playing is usually quite virtuous, with left hand pulling-off and hammering-on for superfast passages, and right hand rolling fingers, damping with the hand, tapping on the front, etc. Often a capodastre is used, to ease the use of open strings by playing in other modes, or to ease the singers voice.
Flamenco is a style of singing and dancing, which seems to have origins in Indian ragas, but also with lots of Arabian influence.

For more information about Spanish instruments, see tamborileros (in Spanish).

The guitarro is a small sized instrument with the shape of a guitar, but not like a requinto, and more like a cavaquiño. The guitarro is used in the areas of Aragon, La Mancha, Andalusia and Murcia, and although they all belong to the same type, there are small local variaties. For more information about Spanish folk instruments see Lachacona.com .

Small guitars were already used in the renaissance and baroque period. Although originally the strings were made of gut, nowadays they are made of nylon. Often just 5 single strings, but sometimes the 3 middle courses are double.
The tuning can also be different, but often is : b' f#' d'' a'' e''.

from website Eresmas

A similar instrument can be found on the Baleares, where it is also called guitarro; see Morales.

The bandurria is a small mandolin-like instrument, but differently tuned, and used for the popular Rondalla music. The bandurria can also be found in other countries : mainly in South America, but surprisingly also on the Philippines.

The bandurria is made like a guitar (with a flat back), but in a different shape. The neck is very short and the strings run over a saddle on the glued-on bridge (in guitar style), but then continue to a metal stringholder on the edge of the body.

It has 6 double metal courses, and is tuned in 5-5-5-5-5.

It is the smallest instrument of the Rondalla group, which also includes a (normal 6-string) guitar, a string bass and a laud (bigger, and tuned an octave lower than the bandurria - see under).

Playing is with a plectrum, mainly playing the melody lines.

See for more information at Trioassai and Serafinmateo.

The laud is the bigger size bandurria, used to play in Rondalla music. The shape is very typical for this instrument.

The laud is build like a guitar (with flat back), but with a wavy outline on the sides. The soundholes can have different shapes, but often f-holes and a teardrop hole can be found.

The string length is about double that of the bandurria, so it is one octave lower. It has 6 double courses, tuned in 5-5-5-5-5. As with the banduria the strings run over a saddle on the glued-on bridge, then through holes in the bridge to a metal stringholder on the edge of the body.

It is played with a plectrum, playing chords and riffs in the Rondalla.

The (Spanish) guitar is in Portugal called the violaõ. The guitarra is a mandolin shaped instrument, which is a descendant of the English guitar. The special -very typical -peghead/ tuningmachines are similar to the ones used by the 18th century English maker Preston and by some German Waldzittern.

The guitarra is made like a guitar, with a flat back. The fingerboard is usually quite rounded. The tuninghead is always made with a special type of tuning machines (almost solely found on Portuguese instruments). By turning the top screw, the hook on which the end of the string is fastened slides up and down to tune the string. From the back of the machines the peghead has a kind of sickle shape.

There are two kinds of guitarra : the Lisboa and the Coimbra type.
The difference is the tuning, size and the end of the peghead.

guitarra de Lisboa : - violin like scroll head, - stringlength 460mm - tuning : dD aA bB ee aa bb

guitarra de Coimbra : - flat teardrop head, - stringlength 490mm - tuning : cC gG aA dd gg aa

The guitarra is played with a plectrum and the tone is made to "sing" a lot by left hand vibrato. It is mainly used for the famous Fado music, in which it plays arpeggio chords to accompany the singing, but there are also many solos.

For more info about the guitarra portuguese see Fernandezmusic.com .

The example instrument has the bridge and nut made out of plastic.

This is the most wellknown viola of Portugal. All violas have 5 courses of metal strings, and the fretboard is flush with the soundboard.
The viola braguesa has 10 strings and is typical of northwestern Portugal around the town of Braga, between the Douro and Minho Rivers.

The sound hole is usually with a half circle with two teardrops on top, while the bridge has a decorative mustache of two leaves on both sides. The tuning head has the vague shape of a three-foil. However, as with all Portuguese instruments, the tuning head can be made like the guitarra portuguesa, with its typical machine head. But it could also be with friction pegs, or normal machine heads. It all depends on the maker.

The bridge is very typical for all violas : the strings run first over a loose thin piece of wood, then through holes in the glued-on bridge and are then turned back and fixed to pins on the bridge. The number of pins is not necessarely the number of strings, but is usually six.

Tuning is in 5-courses: cC, gG, aA, dd, gg (this is like the Coimbra-style guitarra tuning, omitting the highest course).

The viola amarantina has two heart shaped soundholes, and 10 strings. Usually there is a decoration underneath the bridge in the shape of a flower, and the bridge had two leaves on both sides. This makes it different from the similar looking viola de diz cordes on Cape Verde and from the viola da terra used on the Azores, which has a straight bridge.

It seems that the fingerboard is slightly raised.

The tuning is in 5 courses : dD aA bB ee aa.

This is a viola from the area of Beira Litoral and is especially used around Coimbra. The main identification points are the oval shaped soundhole and the 12 strings.

It has 12 strings and is often found with wooden tuning pegs.
The tuning of the 5 courses is : aaA, ddD, gG, bb, ee.

This viola is from the area of Catelo Branco, and can be easily identified. It has a very tight slim waist, with 10 strings on the tuning head and 2 extra (drone) strings fitted to the left side of the neck (near the body).

The tuning of the 5 courses is : dd (shorts) aA dD gG bb dd.

This viola campaniça is from the region of Vila Verde de Ficalho.
It has a tight slim waist and 10 strings. It looks much like the viola beiroa, but misses the short strings.

The tuning of the 5 courses is : cC fF cc ee gg.

The cavaquinho [pronounced : kah-vah-keen-you] is the small guitar of Portugal. It is made like a small Spanish guitar, but the soundhole, bridge and tuning head may follow any of the types mentioned above under the violas and guitarra.

The fingerboard is flush with the front. Sometimes the top of the front is covered with different coloured wood like a scratchplate.

It has 4 metal strings, tuned sometimes like a' a' c#'' e'', or d' b' g'' d''.

This instrument first went to Madeira (in 1854, to become the braguinha) and then on to Hawaii (in 1879) to become the ukulele.

Cavaquinhos are also used in Cape Verde and Brazil.

bandolineta / bandolim / bandoleta / bandoloncelo / bandola

This instrument is the Portuguese mandolin. It comes in different sizes and the tuning head can be of all different types used for the violas.

The body shape is often more teardrop than the Italian types of mandolin and it always has a flat back.

It has the usual 4 double courses of metal strings like a normal mandolin.

This instrument is the Portuguese banjo and comes in different sizes and with different number of strings (often with different names, like viola banjo / banjolim / banjola / banjo de acordes.

There are banjos of cavaquinho size with 4 strings, or 4 double strings as a kind of mandolin, etc. They are all used for folk music.

At the west coast of Africa (near Morocco) are the (Spanish) Canary Islands. Here a special kind of cavaquinho exist : the 5 string timple. It is mainly made and used on the island of Lanzarote, and has similarities with the 16th century renaissance guitar.

The timple has a strong vaulted back (which can also be found on the Mexican vihuela and some charangos). The peghead is either with friction pegs (from the back) or with tuning machines. There are only 7 frets, and the fingerboard is flush with the front. I has a glued-on bridge.

It has 5 nylon strings and the tuning is like a renaissance lute :
5-4-5-5 : g' c'' e' a' d''.

It is played by strumming chords, to accompany singing, usually in large folk groups, with guitars.

the vaulted back of the timple

On the Portuguese island of Madeira (just north of the Canary islands, more towards Portugal) exists a cavaquinho, with the name braguinha (or braguinã) - in fact "little braga" (see viola de braga). It is also called machete, or machete de braga. It seems to have arrived on the island from Portugal in 1854 and was taken to Hawaii in 1879, where it became the ukulele (but with the tuning of the rajão - see under).

Its construction is like a small guitar, with a flat back and 4 metal strings. The pegs are friction pegs from the back or tuning machines. Sometimes the top half of the front is covered with different wood, like a scratchplate, but often it looks like a smaller rajão.

The tuning of the 4 metal strings is d' g' b' d'' (the banjo tuning).

It is played by strumming chords, to accompany folk singing.

Some more information see Musica Tradicional da Madeira (in Portuguese).

The rajão is the slightly bigger relative of the Portuguese braguinha, with 5 courses.

The rajao is made like a small guitar, with the fretboard slightly raised. It has friction pegs from the back or normal tuning machines (2x3).

It has 6 metal strings in 5 courses, the first course is double.

The tuning is guitar-like : 5-5-4-5 >> d' g' c' e' a'a' .

It is played by strumming chords, to accompany folk singing.

The story about the birth of the ukulele is that both the braguinha and the rajão sailed in 1879 to Hawaii. Here the ukulele developed, by getting its size from the braguinha instrument, and its tuning from the rajão (see also ukulele in America north).

On Madeira they use besides the normal guitar (called violão) the viola, here with 9 metal strings in 5 courses.

The viola de arame looks quite a lot like a normal spanish guitar, even with raised fingerboard and glued on bridge.

The 9 strings are tuned in 5 courses : gG dD gg b dd.

On the Portuguese island Saint Miguel of the Azores (north of Madeira, near Portugal) exist a special viola : the viola da terra.

With the two heart shape soundholes the viola da terra looks quite similar to the viola amarantina, but the fingerboard is inlayed in the soundboard and the bridge ends in straight figures.

It has 12 metal strings, in 5 courses : a'a'a d'd'd gg bb d'd'.

Note that a quite similar viola is used on the Cape Verde Islands (see under).

This viola is typical of the Azorean Island of Terceira. It comes in a version with 15 strings and one with even 18 strings. This viola is the only one with 6 courses (in guitar-tuning).

The instrument is quite guitar-like, with a slightly raised fingerboard. Tuning is with friction pegs from behind, or with normal tuning machines.

15-string viola da terceira
Tuning is in 6 courses: eeE, aaA, ddD, gG, bb, ee (6th to 1st)

18 string viola da terceira
Tuning is in 7 courses : (7th) eeE, aaA, ddD, gG, bb, ee
(the 7th course is tuned depending on the player)

The republic of Cape Verde ("Cabo Verde") is a collection of small vulcanic islands off the coast of central Africa; therefore it should have been on the Africa page. However, I have put it on this page of West Europe, as it has more relations with the Portuguese instruments than the African ones.

Music on Cape Verde (which sounds very much like Brazilian and/or Portuguese music) is made in small groups with a guitar (violão), a violin, a (10 string) viola and a small cavaquinho. All the instruments are locally made, mainly on the island of São Vicente with the town Mindelo.

The cavaquinho on Cape Verde is usually more like the bigger size cavaquinho from Brazil (or even larger !), then the slender one from Portugal (although the string length for all is more or less the same). On the island Santo Antão I saw some smaller ones (see the example) which are more the size of the Portuguese cavaquinho.

The cavaquinhos are made like a small guitar, and have 4 metal strings.
The tuning is d g' b' d'' (so no re-entrant tuning). Most of the instruments have white lines around the body and around the soundholes. Just a few also have scratchplates (like the example). The bridge is not like the Portuguese cavaquinho with an extra piece of wood, but like the spanish guitar. The neck is much wider than the cavaquinhos from Brazil or Portugal.

The cavaquinhos are used to accompany singing by strumming and occasional a short solo.

Selection of instruments by the local maker Aniceto Gomes (in Mindelo) : a 12-string guitar, a cavaquinho, a viola de 10 cordas, two violãos; in the back: two bandolims, a cavaquinho, and a banjo. See his website Gomes.

The relative size of different cavaquinhos: left to right : - from Portugal - from Brazil - from Santo Antão CV - from São Vicente CV The Portuguese one is the same size as a soprano ukulele - the string length for all is about 37 cm.

Music on Cape Verde (which sounds very much like Portuguese and/of Brazilian music) is made in small groups with a guitar (violão), a violin, a (10 string) viola and a small cavaquinho. All the instruments are locally made.

The guitar (violão) looks usually very much like the normal spanish (or classical) guitar, with nylon strings. It often plays repeated riffs or bass-lines. The rhythm strumming of chords in this group is done by the cavaquinho and the viola de diz cordas, both with steel strings.

The viola de diz cordes ("10-string guitar") is made like a slightly smaller guitar.
It has two heart-shaped soundholes, so it looks very much like the viola da terra from the Azores; however it has only 10 metal strings in 5 courses, instead of 12. The difference with the similar viola amarantina from Portugal (with 10 strings) is the shape of the bridge.

The tuning is aa dd' gg bb e'e'.

The viola de diz cordas is only used for strumming.

The example has scratch plates (here blueish coloured), but that is not common on the violas.

In Ireland folk music is very popular, and is often played in pubs; mainly using all kinds of acoustic instruments that are easy to carry about, like violins and flutes.
The plucked instruments include (of course) the mandolin, the small tenor banjo (in mandolin tuning) and the (steelstring) guitar.

From the Greek bouzouki developed (with some influence from a long neck cittern) the irish bouzouki. Sometimes also called Irish cittern, or Celtic cittern.

The irish bouzouki is made with the body of a flat back mandolin. It has a long guitar-neck, and a small loose bridge.

It has 8 metal strings in 4 courses. Tuning varies between players : guitar-like, or mandolin-like, or some open tuning (like A D a d), etc.

The irish bouzouki is used (like all other plucked instruments in Irish music) to accompany each other and occasionally get a solo part.

Notice the confusing list of the related mandolins and cittern (see mandolins).

For lots of information about the Irish bouzouki see Han's website.