If someone asked me what ukulele is, I would without a hesitation say that it is a small 4 string guitar.
Just lacks the base strings, but the tuning is same relatively and the re-entrant nature does not change that when accompanying.
Mandolin or that tenor "guitar", they are different and not guitars because of the tuning difference in my opinion. With mandolin other things too or bouzouki etc. more exotic.
Well, anyone can tune their guitar in whatever tuning they please and it still is a guitar. Just not so many others can play with it and the playing style also might be less orthodox.
So to me the tuning is the key point.
It is the ability to play chords in any key. Six string guitar can do that too, but not as easy.
Just lacks the base strings, but the tuning is same relatively and the re-entrant nature does not change that when accompanying.
Mandolin or that tenor "guitar", they are different and not guitars because of the tuning difference in my opinion. With mandolin other things too or bouzouki etc. more exotic.
Well, anyone can tune their guitar in whatever tuning they please and it still is a guitar. Just not so many others can play with it and the playing style also might be less orthodox.
So to me the tuning is the key point.
It is the ability to play chords in any key. Six string guitar can do that too, but not as easy.