Is the uke just a small guitar?
Not really. There are many differences, but the biggest is probably the way its tuned. The ukulele uses a type of tuning called reentrant tuning. In reentrant tuning, instead of the strings being tuned across the neck from high to low, one of the strings jumps up in pitch while its neighbors drop progressively. Reentrant tuning is found on other stringed instruments including the lute, Venezuelan cuatro and 5-string banjo. Its great for strumming since the up and the down-strokes sound almost the same.
