The rajão ( pt, machete de rajão) is a 5-stringed instrument from

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. The instrument traces back to the country's regional folk music, where it is used in folklore dances of Portugal in addition to other stringed instruments from the same region.

History

There is little information of the origins of the rajão, but it is often associated with traditional folklore dance of Madeira and the origins of the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

of Hawaii. As early as 1879, Portuguese immigrants (who also owned business in musical instruments) brought the rajão (as well as a

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and braga) to Hawaii, where it was later given the nickname of the "taro-patch fiddle." The rajão can be known as the "mother of the ukulele."

Construction and tuning

The instrument is about 70 centimeters (about 2 feet and 3 inches) in length and can be compared to a

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

with regards to structure and playing technique. On a modern rajão the strings are made of metal. The rajão is tuned to D₄-G₄-C₄-E₄-A₄, a

reentrant tuning On a stringed instrument, a break in an otherwise ascending (or descending) order of string pitches is known as a re-entry. A re-entrant tuning, therefore, is a tuning where the strings (or more properly the courses) are not all ordered from th ...

with the third string the lowest pitch. When it has 6 strings, the tuning becomes D₄-G₄-C₄-E₄-A₄-A₄. The rajão also comes with all five courses doubled, though these are less common.

References

Portuguese musical instruments Guitar family instruments Madeiran culture Portuguese words and phrases {{guitar-stub

History

Construction and tuning

See also (related instruments)

References