Mandolin

Мандоліна

Audio: Mandolin

The mandolin is a plucked string instrument with 8 paired strings, played with a plectrum using its signature tremolo. Italian roots yet a worldwide presence, from bluegrass to classical music.

The mandolin is the younger sister of the lute, widespread in Italy since the 17th century. Pairs of strings for each note (instead of a single) give a dense, songful timbre. Playing with a plectrum in rapid tremolo (alternating down-up strokes) is the mandolin's signature sound.

In classical music the mandolin was written for by Mozart (Don Giovanni — the Serenade), Beethoven, and Vivaldi (two concertos). In the 20th–21st centuries the mandolin is the soul of American bluegrass (Bill Monroe, Chris Thile), Celtic folk music, and Neapolitan song (O sole mio). In Ukraine, mandolin ensembles perform at the philharmonics of major cities; the ethno scene occasionally includes the mandolin as an element of cross-cultural dialogue.

Cultural Versus

Mandolin

Sub-category:: strings

The mandolin is a plucked string instrument with 8 paired strings, played with a plectrum using its signature tremolo. Italian roots yet a worldwide presence, from bluegrass to classical music.

45%similarity

Didgeridoo

Sub-category:: brass

The didgeridoo is a traditional wind instrument of the Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia; the earliest rock-art depictions date from roughly the last 1,500 years. A long tube that produces a droning, meditative sound.