Guitalele

History of the Guitalele

The history of the guitarlele is tied to the ukulele, which dates back to its Portuguese origins. Its likely ancestors are small string instruments known as a machete or cavaquinho, thought to have developed in the Madeira region. These instruments made their way to the islands of Hawaii with migrants in the 1800s and soon there were new Hawaiian influenced designs produced. Migrants such as Jose do Espirito Santo, Augusto Dias and Manual Nunes are widely regarded as the first luthiers to create the recognisable ukulele design. By the 1890s, the first instruments being sold as “ukuleles” were becoming popular. Since the creation of the ukulele in Hawaii, many varieties have evolved including the banjolele, concert ukulele and baritone ukulele. The guitarlele is a combination of both a guitar and a ukulele which is, in short, a six-string guitar played at a higher range - each string is 5 semitones higher. Guitarists could play at the same range if they were to place a capo at the fifth fret. The concept was realised by several manufacturing companies during the late 20th century, including Japanese instrument maker Yamaha who produced the Yamaha GL1 Guitalele. These standard tunings meant the guitarlele was pitched to the chord A. The guitarlele is a relatively new instrument and as such has not appeared on many popular music recordings but is growing in popularity as a portable instrument.

Inventor: Unknown