A guitalele (sometimes spelled guitarlele or guilele), also called a ukitar, or kīkū,Kiku, latest offspring in the ukulele family
Lichty Guitars (Dec. 11, 2014).
Kinnard Ukes (accessed September 2015). is a guitar-ukulele hybrid, that is, "a 1/4 size" guitar, a cross between a

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

and a tenor or baritone

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 ...

. The guitalele combines the portability of a ukulele, due to its small size, with the six single strings and resultant chord possibilities of a classical guitar. It may include a built-in microphone that permits playing the guitalele either as an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

or connected to an amplifier. The guitalele is variously marketed (and used) as a travel guitar or children's guitar. It is essentially a modern iteration of the Quint guitar. A guitalele is the size of a ukulele, and is commonly played like a guitar transposed up to “A” (that is, up a 4th, or like a guitar with a capo on the fifth fret). This gives it tuning of ADGCEA, with the top four strings tuned like a low G ukulele. This is the same as the tuning of the

requinto The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are ''requinto'' guitars, drums, and several wind instruments. Wind instruments ''Requinto'' was 19th-century S ...

guitar, although the latter are typically larger than a guitalele, and as the most common tuning for the

guitarrón mexicano The guitarrón mexicano (the Spanish name of a "big Mexican guitar", the suffix ''-ón'' being a Spanish augmentative) or Mexican guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican six-string acoustic bass played traditionally in Mariachi gro ...

, albeit at a higher octave. Several guitar and ukulele manufacturers market guitaleles, including

Yamaha Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate with a very wide range of products and services. It is one of the constituents of Nikkei 225 and is the world's largest musical instrument manufacturing company. The former motorcycle div ...

GL-1 Guitalele The Yamaha GL-1 is a guitalele, also known as a 1/4 size guitar or guitar-ukulele hybrid, combining the size of an ukulele with the wider fretboard and six single nylon strings of a classical guitar. The guitalele combines the portability of an ...

, Nikkei Weekly (December 22, 1997) ''Small guitar can be amplified.'' Section: New products, science & Technology. Page 10. Cordoba's Guilele and Mini, Koaloha's D-VI 6-string tenor ukulele, Mele's Guitarlele, Kanilea's GL6 Guitarlele and Islander GL6, Luna's 6-string baritone ukulele, the Yudelele, the Lichty Kīkū, the Kinnard Kīkū, and the Gretsch guitar-ukulele. Some manufacturers' (e.g., Luna) use of the term "6-string ukulele" (or the like) in describing their six-string, six-course guitaleles can lead to confusion with the common six-string, four-course ukuleles that are typically referred to by the same name. These four-course "6-string ukuleles" are usually strung with a single G string, a closely spaced course of two (often octave-tuned) C strings, a single E string and a closely spaced course of two (often unison-tuned) A strings. This means that chord formation is more akin to a traditional four-string ukulele, while the Guitalele's is more akin to a six-string guitar.

Terminology

In Latin America, Brazil, Portugal, and Spain, this instrument type is often referred to as a kind of

Requinto The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are ''requinto'' guitars, drums, and several wind instruments. Wind instruments ''Requinto'' was 19th-century S ...

. In that sense, the new English

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsGuitars Ukuleles