Mandolin
In 1787, Luigi Bassi played the role of Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera, serenading a woman with a mandolin. This scene cemented the instrument's image as an obscure tool of romance in the hands of a Spanish nobleman. Mandolins evolved from lutes, a family of instruments in Europe that included predecessors like the gittern and mandore during the 17th and 18th centuries. Two regional variants became the most widespread: the Neapolitan mandolin and the Lombard mandolin. The Neapolitan style eventually spread worldwide, while other forms remained localized. Early instruments were quiet, strung with gut strings, and plucked with fingers or quills. Modern instruments are louder, using metal strings that exert more pressure than gut strings. The modern soundboard is designed to withstand this pressure, which would break earlier instruments. Design changes often involved the soundboard, which comes in many shapes but generally remains round or teardrop-shaped.
The three most common types of mandolin are the Neapolitan or round-backed mandolin, the archtop mandolin, and the flat-backed mandolin. The round-backed version has a deep bottom constructed of strips of wood glued together into a bowl. The archtop, also known as the carved-top mandolin, features an arched top and shallower arched back both carved out of wood. Flat-backed mandolins use thin sheets of wood for the body braced on the inside for strength similar to a guitar. Each style produces its own sound quality and associates with particular music styles. Neapolitan mandolins feature prominently in European classical music and traditional music like Andean music from Peru. Archtop instruments are common in American folk music and bluegrass music. Flatback instruments are commonly used in Irish, British, Brazilian folk music, and Mexican estudiantinas. Bowlback mandolins are sometimes colloquially referred to as potato bugs due to their shape and construction from alternating colored wood strips.
The mandolin is the soprano member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello, and mandobass. Like the violin, it uses courses tuned in unison with four pairs of strings totaling eight strings. The standard tuning matches the violin: G3-D4-A4-E5. The mandola is tuned a fifth below the mandolin, using C3-G3-D4-A4. Its scale length typically measures about 16 inches. The octave mandolin tunes an octave below the mandolin at G2-D3-A3-E4. Instruments with scales as short as 14 inches or as long as 18 inches exist but remain uncommon. The mandocello classically tunes to an octave plus a fifth below the mandolin at C2-G2-D3-A3. A typical violoncello scale measures around 27 inches while the mandocello scale reaches approximately 29 inches. The mandobass serves as the bass version with four single strings tuned to E1-A1-D2-G2. These were made by the Gibson company in the early 20th century and never became very common.
Significant composers wrote music specifically for the mandolin though few large works existed compared to those composed for violin. Vivaldi created concertos including one for four-chord mandolino in C major RV 425 and another for two five-chord mandolinos in G major RV 532. Beethoven composed four small pieces dating from 1796: Sonatine WoO 43a, Adagio ma non troppo WoO 43b, Sonatine WoO 44a, and Andante con Variazioni WoO 44b. Mozart's opera Don Giovanni includes mandolin parts accompanying the famous aria Deh vieni alla finestra. Gustav Mahler used the mandolin in his Symphony No. 7, Symphony No. 8, and Das Lied von der Erde. Mandolin orchestras traditionally played arrangements of music written for regular orchestras or other ensembles to fill gaps in literature. Travelling virtuosi like Carlo Curti, Giuseppe Pettine, Raffaele Calace, and Silvio Ranieri contributed to making the instrument a fad in the early 20th century. This mandolin craze faded by the 1930s before finding new niches in American country and bluegrass music.
The mandolin found renewed popularity within Celtic and British folk traditions during the 2000s and 2010s appearing frequently in contemporary Scottish acoustic ensembles. In India, the mandolin is played in classical Carnatic music where musician U. Srinivas became perhaps the greatest player in this style before dying young. The bandolim is commonly used wherever Spanish and Portuguese took it including South America Brazil Choro and the Philippines. Stefan Sobell developed a large-bodied flat-backed mandolin with carved soundboard based on his cittern design called a Celtic mandolin in the early 1970s. Flatback instruments are commonly used in Irish British Brazilian folk music and Mexican estudiantinas. The Irish bouzouki though not strictly part of the family has reasonable resemblance and similar range to the octave mandolin. Terms octave mandolin and Irish bouzouki often refer interchangeably to the same instrument despite theoretical distinctions regarding scale length.
Electric mandolins were developed in the early 1930s contemporaneous with electric guitar development. Fender released a model in 1992 featuring an additional high A string above the E string plus tremolo bridge and extra humbucker pickup. This created an instrument capable of playing heavy metal style riffs or violin-like passages with sustained notes adjustable like an electric guitar. Resonator mandolins produce sound through one or more metal cones instead of wooden soundboards historic brands include Dobro and National String Instrument Corporation. Mandolin-banjo hybrids pair mandolin necks with banjo-style bodies patented by Benjamin Bradbury of Brooklyn in 1882. Double top features allow luthiers to experiment for better sound since at least the early 1900s when Ginislao Paris approached Luigi Embergher to build custom instruments. Modern players like Joseph Brent and Avi Avital use customized instruments either by luthier choice or player request. The type used by Avital is variation of flatback enclosing resonating chamber with side sound holes and convex back made by Israeli luthier Arik Kerman.
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Common questions
When did Luigi Bassi play the role of Don Giovanni with a mandolin?
Luigi Bassi played the role of Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera in 1787. This performance featured him serenading a woman with a mandolin and cemented the instrument's image as an obscure tool of romance.
What are the three most common types of mandolin and how do they differ?
The three most common types of mandolin are the Neapolitan or round-backed mandolin, the archtop mandolin, and the flat-backed mandolin. The Neapolitan version has a deep bottom constructed from strips of wood glued into a bowl while the archtop features carved tops and shallower arched backs made from wood.
How is the standard tuning of the mandolin set compared to other instruments?
The standard tuning for the mandolin matches the violin at G3-D4-A4-E5 using four pairs of strings totaling eight strings. Other family members like the mandola tune a fifth below at C3-G3-D4-A4 and the octave mandolin tunes an octave below at G2-D3-A3-E4.
Which composers wrote music specifically for the mandolin during the classical era?
Significant composers who wrote music for the mandolin include Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart, and Gustav Mahler. Vivaldi created concertos including RV 425 in C major and RV 532 in G major while Beethoven composed four small pieces dating from 1796.
When did electric mandolins develop and what models exist today?
Electric mandolins were developed in the early 1930s contemporaneous with electric guitar development. Fender released a model in 1992 featuring an additional high A string above the E string plus tremolo bridge and extra humbucker pickup.