Cart
0
Viola Campaniça, Viola Braguesa and Cavaquinho: differences and prices
What is the difference between the viola campaniça from Alentejo, the viola braguesa from Minho and the cavaquinho? Strings, tunings, music, history and the price of an instrument handmade by luthier Diogo Valente.
In this article
By Sérgio Carvalho, Ra-Ro co-founder · View profile
About a 7 minute read
I'll admit it. The first time I saw a viola campaniça I thought someone had stretched a guitar. They hadn't. Almost a metre of wood, an hourglass waist, wire strings and a past in Alentejo taverns. A guitar it never was. Today I have three of these instruments side by side at Ra-Ro, made by the same luthier, and the question is unavoidable: what is the difference? Let's take it step by step.
The viola campaniça is the folk string instrument of Baixo Alentejo, with five courses of metal strings and a round sound hole, once used to accompany cante. The viola braguesa comes from Braga and Minho, with five double courses and a stingray-shaped hole. The Minho cavaquinho has four strings. By Diogo Valente, they cost €1,920 and €720 at Ra-Ro.
What is the difference between the viola campaniça, the viola braguesa and the cavaquinho?
The difference lies in the region, the number of strings and the music they accompany. The campaniça is from the South. The braguesa and the cavaquinho are from the North. The campaniça and the braguesa have five courses of strings, the cavaquinho only four single strings. Size gives it away too: the campaniça is about a metre long, the braguesa around 90 centimetres and the Minho cavaquinho about 52.
| Instrument | Region | Strings / courses | Typical tuning (high to low) | Associated music | Handmade price at Ra-Ro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viola campaniça | Baixo Alentejo (Campo Branco: Castro Verde, Ourique, Almodôvar, Aljustrel) | 5 courses of metal strings | G, E, C, F, C | balhos (sung dances), tavern despiques, old accompaniment of cante | €1,920 |
| Viola braguesa | Braga and Minho | 5 double courses (10 strings) | A, E, B, A, D or A, F sharp, B, G, D | chulas, viras, sung challenges and pilgrimages | €1,920 |
| Cavaquinho | Minho (Braga and Guimarães) | 4 single strings | D, B, G, G or D, B, G, D | rusgas, village dances, desgarradas | €720 |
An honest note on tunings: they vary from player to player and from village to village. These are the best documented ones. They are not the only ones.
What is the viola campaniça and where does it come from?
The viola campaniça is the traditional string instrument of Baixo Alentejo, above all of Campo Branco, around Castro Verde, Ourique, Almodôvar and Aljustrel. It is also called viola de arames (wire viola) or viola de Beja. Some people search for it as "guitarra campaniça". Same thing. I kept the details in the viola campaniça glossary entry.
The body is shaped like a figure eight, with a pronounced waist, and the sound hole is round. The head (cravelhal) is flat and rectangular, slightly angled back from the neck. The strings are metal, in five courses. Traditionally it is played fingerstyle with the thumb alone. One finger. Enough.
It accompanied balhos, tavern despiques and sing-alongs. And here comes the curious part. Cante alentejano, inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014, is sung today by choirs with no instruments at all. Yet records from the late 19th century show cante accompanied by the viola campaniça. The choir stayed. The viola left the stage.
It left, but it did not die. It fell out of use in the 1960s and almost disappeared. Alberto Sardinha's field recordings in Campo Branco helped save it, and from the late 1980s it was heard again. Pedro Mestre, a musician from Castro Verde, built his own viola in 1999. Today Castro Verde is where it is taught the most.
What is the viola braguesa?
The viola braguesa is the folk viola of Braga and Minho, with five double courses, ten strings in all, and a stingray-shaped sound hole (boca de raia) on modern instruments. Older ones had a round or oval hole. Written references go back to the 17th century. More in the viola braguesa glossary entry.
It is strummed (rasgado), with all the fingers sweeping the strings. It is the viola of chulas, viras and sung challenges at Minho festivals. It has two tuning families with their own names, moda velha and moda nova. Some prefer moda velha because it sits better with Minho women's voices. I stay out of that argument. I always lose.
In 1983 Júlio Pereira recorded an album called, fittingly, Braguesa, and took the viola from the village fair to the stage. Years later, the band Diabo na Cruz brought it into rock. Anyone searching for "braguesa guitar" is thinking of this instrument, even without the right name.
What is the cavaquinho like and how is it tuned?
The cavaquinho is a small string instrument with four metal strings, born in Minho, about 52 centimetres long. There are references to cavaquinhos being built in Braga and Guimarães since the early 17th century.
On the Minho cavaquinho, the most cited tunings are D, B, G, G and D, B, G, D, counted from the highest string to the lowest. It is strummed and turns up at festivals, fairs and pilgrimages, village dances, desgarradas and sung challenges. Small, but nobody tells it to be quiet.
It is also the one that travelled furthest. In Brazil it is central to samba and choro. And Madeira's braguinha and rajão, taken to Hawaii by Madeiran emigrants in the late 19th century, gave rise to the ukulele. Not bad for an instrument that fits in a backpack.
How much does a handmade viola campaniça or braguesa cost?
At Ra-Ro, a viola campaniça handmade by Diogo Valente costs €1,920, exactly the same as the viola braguesa. The handmade cavaquinho costs €720.
I will not pretend to know the price list of every luthier in the country. I don't. What I do know is simple: an instrument handmade by a luthier costs more than a factory one, because it is built piece by piece by the same hands, with no assembly line. Diogo's campaniça, from his luxury range, takes about a month and a half at the bench. Do the maths on the hours.
Right now there is one campaniça, one braguesa and two cavaquinhos. They are all in the Ra-Ro musical instruments collection. When they are gone, they are gone. They come back when Diogo has another one ready.
Who makes the violas and the cavaquinho sold at Ra-Ro?
They are made by Diogo Valente, a luthier of string instruments, under the name Instrumentos Valente. He started alone, on a balcony, with generic tools. Then he found a master, José Gonçalves, with more than 30 years in the craft. At 29 he was already being called a national young prodigy of instrument making.
He keeps a low profile. He is known mainly among musicians, which is where a luthier's reputation matters. A balcony, simple tools and a patient master. I like these stories because they have no shortcuts.
If you are still undecided, my advice is to listen to all three before choosing. The campaniça sounds like the plains. The braguesa sounds like a village fair. The cavaquinho sounds like a party that refuses to end.
Frequently asked questions
Is the viola campaniça the same as the guitarra campaniça?
Yes. Guitarra campaniça is how many people type it into a search bar, but the traditional name is viola campaniça, also called viola de arames or viola de Beja. It is an Alentejo instrument with five courses of metal strings, not a relative of the fado Portuguese guitar.
Is cante alentejano sung with a viola?
Not today. Cante is sung by choirs without instruments, and that is how UNESCO inscribed it in 2014. But records from the late 19th century show that cante used to be accompanied by the viola campaniça.
How long does it take a luthier to make a viola campaniça?
The viola campaniça by Diogo Valente sold at Ra-Ro belongs to his luxury range and takes about a month and a half to build, entirely by hand, in the Instrumentos Valente workshop.
Are the viola braguesa and the viola amarantina the same instrument?
No. Both are northern violas, but the sound hole tells them apart: the amarantina has an opening shaped like two hearts, while the modern braguesa has a stingray-shaped hole and older ones a round or oval hole.
Who made the viola braguesa known beyond Minho?
Júlio Pereira, with his 1983 album Braguesa, which took the viola from village fairs to concert stages. Later, bands such as Diabo na Cruz used it in rock and took it to new audiences.
Is the cavaquinho a good instrument to start with?
It is the smallest of the three, about 52 centimetres long, and has only four single strings to tune. At Ra-Ro, Diogo Valente's handmade cavaquinho costs €720, much less than the five-course violas.
