A
mandolin is a musical instrument in the
lute family (plucked, or strummed). It is descended
from the
mandore, a
soprano member of the lute family. It has a body
with a teardrop-shaped soundboard, or one which is essentially oval
in shape, with a soundhole, or soundholes, of varying shapes which
are open and are not decorated with an intricately carved grille
like the Baroque era mandolins.
Originally mandolins had six double courses of gut strings tuned
similarly to lutes, and plucked with the fingertips, while the
design common today has eight metal strings in four pairs (courses)
which are plucked with a
plectrum.
The latter
originated in Naples
, Italy
during the 3rd quarter of the 18th century.
There were and still are many variants. These include
Milanese, Lombard, Brescian and other 6-course
types, as well as four-string (one string per course),
twelve-string (three strings per course), and sixteen-string (four
strings per course).
Mandolin construction

F-5-style mandolin (f-holes)

A-5-style mandolin (f-holes)

Example of an A-4-style mandolin (oval
hole)
A mandolin's typically hollow wooden body has a neck with a flat
(or slight radius) fretted fingerboard, a nut and floating bridge,
a tailpiece or pinblock at the edge of the face to which the
strings are attached, and mechanical tuning machines, rather than
friction pegs, to accommodate metal strings. Like the
guitar, the mandolin has relatively poor sustain;
that is, the sound from a plucked string decays quickly. A note
cannot be maintained for an arbitrary length of time as with a
bowed note on a
violin. Its small size and
higher
pitch makes this problem more
severe than with the guitar, and the use of
tremolo (rapid picking of one or more pairs of
strings) is often used to create a sustained note or chords. This
technique works particularly well with a mandolin's paired strings,
where one of the pair is sounding while the other is being struck
by the pick, giving a more rounded and continuous sound than is
possible with a single coursed instrument.
The small body also contributes to a relatively low sound volume
relative to other instruments. Various amplification techniques
have been used to overcome this. Hybridization with the louder
banjo creates the
mandolin-banjo, and resonators have been
used, most notably by
Dobro and the
National String
Instrument Corporation. Some musicians use
electric mandolins played through
amplifiers.
Mandolin forms

1930 National Triolian resonator
mandolin from Lowell Levinger's collection

1926 Paramount Style A Banjo Mandolin
from Lowell Levinger's collection

Carved (acoustic-electric) and round
backed mandolins (front)

Carved and round backed mandolins
(back)
Mandolins come in several forms. The Neapolitan style, known as a
round-back or bowl-back (or "
tater-bug," colloquial American) has
a vaulted back made of a number of strips of wood in a bowl
formation, similar to a
lute, and usually a
canted, two-plane, uncarved top. Another form has a
banjo-style body.
At the very end of the nineteenth century, a new style, with a
carved top and back construction inspired by violin family
instruments began to supplant the European-style bowl-back
instruments, especially in the United States. This new style is
credited to mandolins designed and built by
Orville Gibson, a Kalamazoo, Michigan luthier
who founded the "Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Co., Limited"
in 1902. Gibson mandolins evolved into two basic styles: the
Florentine or F-style, which has a decorative scroll near the neck,
two points on the lower body, and usually a scroll carved into the
headstock; and the A-style, which is pear shaped, has no points,
and usually has a simpler headstock.
These styles generally have either two f-shaped soundholes like a
violin (F-5 and A-5), or an oval sound hole (F-4 and A-4 and lower
models) directly under the strings. Much variation exists between
makers working from these archetypes, and other variants have
become increasingly common. The Gibson
F-hole
F-5-style mandolins have come to be considered the most typical and
traditional for playing American
bluegrass music, while the A-style is
generally more associated with Irish, folk, or classical music. The
more complicated woodwork also translates into a more expensive
instrument.
Internal bracing in the F-style mandolins was usually achieved with
parallel tone bars, similar to a violin's bassbar. Some makers
instead employ "x-bracing" which is simply two tone bars mortised
to each other to cross into an X supporting the top. Some luthiers
are now using a "modified x-bracing," which incorporates both a
tone bar and x-bracing.
Numerous modern mandolin makers build instruments which are largely
replicas of the Gibson F-5 Artist models built in the early 1920s
under the supervision of Gibson acoustician
Lloyd Loar. Original Loar-signed instruments are
sought after and extremely valuable.
Other American-made variants include the
Howe-Orme guitar-shaped mandolin (manufactured by
the
Elias Howe Company between
1897 and roughly 1920), which featured a cylindrical bulge along
the top from fingerboard end to tailpiece; the Army-Navy style with
a flat back and top; and the Vega mando-lute (more commonly called
a
cylinder-back mandolin
manufactured by the
Vega Company
between 1913 and roughly 1927), which had a similar longitudinal
bulge but on the back rather than the front of the
instrument.
As with almost every other contemporary string instrument, another
modern variant is the
electric
mandolin. These mandolins can have four (single), five (single)
or eight (double) strings.
Mandolin history
Mandolins evolved from the lute family in Italy during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the deep bowled mandolin
produced particularly in Naples became a common type in the
nineteenth century. The original instrument was the
mandore which evolved in the fourteenth
century from the
lute. As time passed and the
instrument spread around Europe, it took on many names and various
structural characteristics.
Further back, dating to around 15,000 BC to 8,000 BC,
single-stringed instruments have been seen in cave paintings and
murals. They were struck, plucked, and eventually bowed. From
these, the families of stringed instruments developed. Single
strings were long and gave a single melody line. To shorten the
scale length, other strings were added with a different tension and
pitch so one string took over where another left off. In turn, this
led to being able to play
dyads and
chords. The bowed family became the
rabob, and
then the
rebec fiddle, evolving into the
modern violin family by 1520 (incidentally also in Italy). The
plucked family led to lute-like instruments in 2000 BC Mesopotamia,
and developed into the
oud or
ud before appearing
in Spain, first documented around 711 AD, courtesy of the
Moors.
Over the next centuries, the strings were doubled to courses, and
eventually (in Europe) frets were added, leading to the first lute
appearing in the thirteenth century. The history of the lute and
the mandolin are intertwined from this point. The lute gained a
fifth course by the fifteenth century, a sixth a century later, and
up to thirteen courses in its heyday. As early as the fourteenth
century a miniature lute or
mandora appeared. Similar to
the mandola, it had counterparts in Assyria (pandura), the Arab
countries (dambura), and Ukraine (
kobza-bandura). From this, the
mandolino (a small gut-strung mandola with six strings
tuned g b e' a' d
g sometimes called the
Baroque
mandolin and played with a quill, wooden plectrum or
finger-style) was developed in several places in Italy. The
mandolino was sometimes called a
mandolin in the early
eighteenth century (around 1735) Naples. At this point, all such
instruments were strung with gut strings.
The first evidence of modern steel-strung mandolins is from
literature regarding popular
Italian
players who traveled through
Europe teaching
and giving concerts. Notable is Signor Leone and G. B. Gervasio who
traveled widely between 1750 and 1810.
This, with the records
gleaned from the Italian Vinaccia family of luthiers in Naples
, Italy
, lead some
musicologists to believe that the modern steel-strung mandolin was
developed in Naples by the Vinaccia family. Gennaro Vinaccia
was active circa 1710 to circa 1788, and Antonio Vinaccia was
active circa 1734 to circa 1796.
An early extant example of a mandolin is
one built by Antonio Vinaccia in 1772 which resides at the Victoria and
Albert Museum
in London
, England
.
Another is by Giuseppe Vinaccia built in 1763, residing at the
Kenneth G.
Fiske Museum of Musical Instruments in
Claremont,
California
. The earliest extant mandolin was built in
1744 by Gaetano Vinaccia.
It resides in the Conservatoire Royal de
Musique in Brussels
,
Belgium.
These early mandolins are termed
Neapolitan mandolins,
because of their origin from Naples. They are distinguished by an
almond-shaped body with a bowled back which is constructed from
curved strips of wood along its length. The soundtable is bent just
behind the bridge, the bending achieved with a heated bending iron.
This "canted" table aids the body to support a greater string
tension. A hardwood fingerboard is flush with the soundtable. Ten
metal or ivory frets are spaced along the neck in semitones, with
additional frets glued upon the soundtable. The strings are brass
except for the lowest string course which are gut or metal wound
onto gut. The bridge is a movable length of hardwood or ivory
placed in front of ivory pins which hold the strings. Wooden tuning
pegs are inserted through the back of a flat pegboard. The
mandolins have a tortoise shell pickguard below the soundhole under
the strings. A quill or shaped piece of tortoise shell is used as a
plectrum.
Other luthiers who built mandolins included Calace (1863 onwards)
in Naples, Luigi Embergher (1856–1943), the Ferrari family (1716
onwards, also originally mandolino makers), and De Santi
(1834–1916) in Rome. The Neapolitan style of mandolin construction
was adopted and developed by others, notably in Rome, giving two
distinct but similar types of mandolin — Neapolitan and
Roman.
The twentieth century saw the rise in popularity of the mandolin
for Celtic, bluegrass, jazz, and classical styles. Much of the
development of the mandolin from Neapolitan bowl-back to the
flat-back style (actually, gently rounded and carved like a violin)
is attributable to
Orville Gibson
(1856–1918). See above.
Tuning
A variety of different tunings are used. Usually,
courses of 2 adjacent strings are doubled
(tuned to the same pitch). The most common tuning by far (GDAE), is
the same as violin tuning:
- fourth (lowest tone) course: G3 (
Hz)
- third course: D4 ( Hz)
- second course: A4 ( Hz; A above
middle C)
- first (highest tone) course: E5 ( Hz)
Other tunings exist, including "cross-tunings" in which the usually
doubled string runs are tuned to different pitches. Additionally,
guitarists may sometimes tune a mandolin to mimic a portion of the
intervals on a standard guitar tuning to achieve familiar fretting
patterns.
Mandolin family

1920 Gibson F-4 mandolin, 1917 Gibson
H-2 mandola, 1924 Gibson K-4 mandocello, and 1929 Gibson
mando-bass, from Gregg Miner's collection
The mandolin is the soprano member of the mandolin family, as the
violin is the soprano member of the
violin family. Like the violin, its scale
length is typically about 13 inches (330 mm). Modern
American mandolins modeled after Gibsons have a longer scale, about
13-7/8" (352 mm).
Other members of the mandolin family are:
- The mandola (US and
Canada), termed the tenor mandola in
Europe, which is tuned to a fifth below the mandolin, in the same
relationship as that of the viola to the
violin. Some also call this instrument the
"alto mandola." Its scale length is typically about
16.5 inches (420 mm). It is normally tuned like a viola:
C-G-D-A.
- The octave
mandolin (US and Canada), termed the
octave mandola or
mandole in Europe, which is tuned an
octave below the mandolin. Its scale length is typically about
20 inches (500 mm), although instruments with scales as
short as 17 inches (430 mm) or as long as 21 inches
(530 mm) are not unknown.
- The mandocello,
which is classically tuned to an octave plus a fifth below the
mandolin, in the same relationship as that of the cello to the violin: C-G-D-A. Today, it is not
infrequently restrung for octave mandolin tuning or the Irish bouzouki's GDAD. Its scale length is
typically about 25 inches (635 mm). A typical violoncello
scale is 27" (686 mm).
- The Greek laouto is essentially a mandocello,
ordinarily tuned D-G-D-A, with half of each pair of the lower two
courses being tuned an octave high on a lighter gauge string. The
body is a staved bowl, the saddle-less bridge glued to the flat
face like most ouds and lutes, with mechanical tuners, steel
strings, and tied gut frets. Modern laoutos, as played on Crete,
have the entire lower course tuned in octaves as well as being
tuned a reentrant octave above the expected D. Its scale length is
typically about 28 inches (712 mm).
- The mando-bass, has
4 single strings, rather than double courses, and is tuned like a
double bass. These were made by the
Gibson company in the early twentieth century, but appear to have
never been very common. Reportedly, most mandolin orchestras preferred to use the
ordinary double bass, rather than a
specialised mandolin family instrument. Calace and other Italian
makers predating Gibson also made mandolin-basses.

1911 Leland piccolo mandolin, from
Gregg Miner's collection
- The piccolo or sopranino
mandolin is a rare member of the family, tuned one octave
above the tenor mandola and one fourth above the mandolin; the same
relation as that of the piccolo or sopranino
violin to the violin and viola. One model was manufactured by the Lyon &
Healy company under the Leland brand. A handful of contemporary
luthiers build piccolo mandolins. Its scale length is typically
about 9.5 inches (240 mm).
- The Irish
bouzouki is also considered a member of the mandolin
family; although derived from the Greek bouzouki, it is constructed
like a flat backed mandolin and uses fifth-based tunings, most
often GDAE (an octave below the mandolin), although sometimes GDAD,
ADAD or ADAE are used in place of the guitar-like fourths-and-third
tunings of the three- and four-course Greek bouzouki. Although the bouzouki's bass course pairs
are most often tuned in unison, on some instruments one of each
pair is replaced with a lighter string and tuned in octaves, in the
fashion of the 12-string guitar. Although
occupying the same range as the octave
mandolin/octave mandola, the Irish
bouzouki is distinguished from the former instrument by its longer
scale length, typically from 22 inches (560 mm) to
24 inches (610 mm), although scales as long as
26 inches (660 mm), which is the usual Greek bouzouki
scale, are not unknown.
- The modern cittern is
also an extension of the mandolin family, being typically a five
course (ten string) instrument having a scale length between
20 inches (500 mm) and 22 inches (560 mm). It
is most often tuned to either DGDAD or GDADA, and is essentially an
octave mandola with a fifth course at
either the top or the bottom of its range. Some luthiers, such as
Stefan Sobell also refer to the octave mandola or a shorter-scaled
Irish bouzouki as a cittern, irrespective of whether it has four or
five courses.
- In Indian classical music
and Indian light music, the mandolin, which bears little
resemblance to the European mandolin, is likely to be tuned to
E-B-E-B. As there is no concept of absolute pitch in Indian
classical music, any convenient tuning maintaining these relative
pitch intervals between the strings can be used. Another prevalent
tuning with these intervals is C-G-C-G, which corresponds to
Sa-Pa-Sa-Pa in the Indian carnatic classical music style. This
tuning corresponds to the way violins are tuned for carnatic
classical music.
Mandolin music
Mandolins have a long history, and much early music was written for
them. In the first half of the 20th century, they enjoyed a period
of great popularity in Europe and the Americas as an easier
approach to playing string music. Many professional and amateur
mandolin groups and orchestras were formed to play light classical
string repertory. Just as this practice was falling into disuse,
the mandolin found a new niche in American
country,
old-time
music,
bluegrass, and
folk music. More recently, the Baroque and
Classical mandolin repertory and styles have benefited from the
raised awareness of and interest in
Early
music. Tremolo and fingerpicking methods are used while playing
a mandolin.
United States
The
mandolin's popularity in the United States
was spurred by the success of a group of touring
young European musicians known as the Estudiantina Figaro, or in
the United States, simply the "Spanish Students." The group
landed in the U.S. on January 2, 1880 in New York City, and played
in Boston and New York to wildly enthusiastic crowds. Ironically,
this ensemble did not play mandolins but rather
Bandurrias, which are also small, double-strung
instruments resembling the mandolin. The success of the Figaro
Spanish Students spawned several groups who imitated their musical
style and colorful costumes. In many cases, the players in these
new
musical ensembles were
Italian-born Americans who had brought
mandolins from their native land. Thus, the Spanish Student
imitators did primarily play mandolins and helped to generate
enormous public interest in an instrument which previously was
relatively unknown in the United States.
Mandolins were a
fad instrument from the turn of
the century to the mid-twenties. Instruments were marketed by
teacher-dealers, much as the title character in the popular musical
The Music Man. Often these
teacher-dealers would conduct mandolin orchestras: groups of 4-50
musicians who would play various mandolin family instruments
together. One musician and director who made his start with a
mandolin orchestra was pioneer African-American composer
James Reese Europe. The instrument was
primarily used in an ensemble setting well into the 1930s, although
the fad died out at the beginning of the 1930s; the famous
Lloyd Loar Master Model from
Gibson (1923) was designed to
boost the flagging interest in mandolin ensembles, with little
success. The true destiny of the "Loar" as the defining instrument
of
bluegrass music didn't appear
until
Bill Monroe purchased F-5 S/N
73987 in a Florida barbershop in 1943 and popularized it as his
main instrument.
The mandolin orchestras never completely went away, however. In
fact, along with all the other musical forms the mandolin is
involved with, the mandolin ensemble (groups usually arranged like
the string section of a modern symphony orchestra, with first
mandolins, second mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, mando-basses,
and guitars, and sometimes supplemented by other instruments)
continues to grow in popularity. Since the mid-nineties, several
public-school mandolin-based guitar programs have blossomed around
the country, including
Fretworks Mandolin and
Guitar Orchestra, the first of its kind. The national
organization which represents these groups is the
Classical Mandolin Society
of America.
Single mandolins were first used in southern string band music in
the 1930s, most notably by brother duets such as the sedate
Blue Sky Boys (Bill Bolick and Earl
Bolick) and the more hard-driving Monroe Brothers (Bill Monroe and
Charlie Monroe). However, the mandolin's modern popularity in
country music can be directly traced to one man: Bill Monroe, the
father of bluegrass music. After the Monroe Brothers broke up in
1939, Bill Monroe formed his own group, after a brief time called
the Blue Grass Boys, and completed the transition of mandolin
styles from a "parlor" sound typical of brother duets to the modern
"bluegrass" style.
He joined the Grand Ole Opry
in 1939 and its powerful clear-channel broadcast
signal on WSM-AM
spread his
style throughout the South, directly inspiring many musicians to
take up the mandolin. Monroe famously played
Gibson F-5 mandolin, signed and
dated July 9, 1923, by
Lloyd Loar, chief
acoustic engineer at Gibson. The F-5 has since become the most
imitated
tonally and
aesthetically by modern builders.
Monroe's style involved playing lead melodies in the style of a
fiddler, and also a percussive chording sound referred to as "the
chop" for the sound made by the quickly struck and muted strings.
He also perfected a sparse, percussive blues style, especially up
the neck in keys which had not been used much in country music,
notably B and E. He emphasized a powerful, syncopated right hand at
the expense of left-hand virtuosity. Monroe's most influential
follower of the second generation is
Frank Wakefield and nowadays
Mike Compton of the
Nashville Bluegrass Band and David
Long, who often tour as a duet.
Tiny
Moore of the
Texas Playboys
developed an electric five-string mandolin and helped popularize
the instrument in
Western Swing
music.
The other major original bluegrass stylists, both emerging in the
early 1950s and active still, are generally acknowledged to be
Jesse McReynolds (of
Jim and Jesse) who invented a syncopated
banjo-roll style called
crosspicking
and
Bobby Osborne of the
Osborne Brothers, who is a master of
clarity and sparkling single-note runs. Highly-respected and
influential modern bluegrass players include Herschel Sizemore,
Doyle Lawson, and the multi-genre
Sam Bush,
who is equally at home with old-time fiddle tunes, rock, reggae,
and jazz.
Ronnie McCoury of the
Del McCoury Band has won numerous
awards for his Monroe-influenced playing.
The late John Duffey of the original Country Gentlemen and later the Seldom Scene did much to popularize the
bluegrass mandolin among folk and urban audiences, especially on
the east coast and in the Washington, D.C.
area.
Jethro Burns, best known as half of
the comedy duo
Homer and Jethro,
was also the first important jazz mandolinist. Tiny Moore
popularized the mandolin in Western swing music. He initially
played an 8-string Gibson but switched after 1952 to a 5-string
solidbody electric instrument built by
Paul
Bigsby. Modern players
David
Grisman,
Sam Bush, and
Mike Marshall, among others, have
worked since the early 1970s to demonstrate the mandolin's
versatility for all styles of music.
Chris
Thile of California is a well known player; the band
Nickel Creek features his playing in its blend
of traditional and pop styles. Most commonly associated with
bluegrass, mandolin has been used a lot in country music over the
years. Some well-known players include Marty Stuart and Vince Gill.
Kristian Bush of the country band
Sugarland plays the mandolin
frequently, though only as a rhythm instrument.
The mandolin has been used occasionally in rock music, first
appearing in the psychedelic era of the late 1960s.
Levon Helm of
The Band
occasionally moved from his drum kit to play mandolin, most notably
on "Rag Mama Rag," "Rockin' Chair," and "Evangeline."
Ian Anderson of
Jethro Tull played mandolin on "Fat Man,"
from their second album,
Stand Up, and also occasionally
on later releases. Rod Stewart's still-played 1971 #1 hit "
Maggie May" features a significant mandolin riff
in its motif.
Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne
played this, and also on "Mandolin Wind," although
credited in the liner notes (written by Stewart) thusly: "The
mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne.
The name slips my mind." Released as the B side of "Reason To
Believe," the unexpected success of this song led to Jackson's
resentment over the lack of credit. David Grisman played mandolin
on two
Grateful Dead songs on the
American Beauty album, "Friend Of The Devil" and "Ripple,"
which became instant favorites among amateur pickers at jam
sessions and campground gatherings. John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page
both played mandolin on a few Led Zeppelin songs. Dash Croft of the
Soft Rock duo
Seals and Crofts extensively used mandolin
in their repertoire during the 1970s.
Some rock musicians today use mandolins, typically single-stringed
electric models rather than double-stringed acoustic mandolins. One
example is Tim Brennan of the Irish-American punk rock band
Dropkick Murphys. In addition to electric guitar, bass, and drums,
the band uses several instruments associated with traditional
Celtic music, including mandolin, tin whistle, and
Great Highland bagpipes. The band
explains that these instruments accentuate the growling sound they
favor. The 1991
R.E.M. hit "
Losing My Religion" was driven by a few
simple mandolin licks played by guitarist
Peter Buck, who also played the mandolin in
nearly a dozen other songs. The single peaked at #4 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart (#1 on the rock and alternative charts),
the highest ranking for a song featuring mandolin in twenty years.
Late 80's/early 90's rock band Caterwaul featured mandolin on many
of its slower songs, including "Lay Down to Rest" and "My Regret."
Every song on
Mark Heard's final album,
1992's
Satellite Sky, was
written on a mandolin, Heard's antique National Silvo electric
mandolin was prominently featured on every track of the recording.
Jack White of
The White Stripes played mandolin for the
film
Cold Mountain,
and plays mandolin on the song "Little Ghost" on the White Stripes
album
Get Behind Me
Satan; he also plays mandolin on "Prickly Thorn, But
Sweetly Worn" on
Icky Thump.
David Immerglück of the
Counting Crows,
Monks of Doom, and
Glider is also known to feature the mandolin
in many of his recordings, especially those with the
Counting Crows. Rock superstar
Tommy Shaw of
Styx has
used the mandolin in the their international hit "Boat on the
River" (1979) and on the Shaw/Blades album
Influence in
the song "Dance with Me."
Luther
Dickinson of
North
Mississippi Allstars and
The Black
Crowes has made frequent use of the mandolin, most notably on
the Black Crowes song "Locust Street."
Pop
punk band
Green Day has used a
mandolin in several occasions, especially on their 2000 album,
Warning.
Boyd Tinsley, violin player of the
Dave Matthews Band has been using an
electric mandolin since 2005.
Nancy Wilson, rhythm guitarist of
Heart, uses a mandolin in Heart's song
"Dream of the Archer" from the album
Little Queen. as well as in Heart's cover
of
Led Zeppelin's song "
The Battle of Evermore." "Show Me
Heaven" by
Maria McKee, the theme song
to the film
Days of
Thunder, prominently features a mandolin.
Mandolin has also been used in blues music, most notably by Yank
Rachell,
Johnny Young, Carl Martin, and
Gerry Hundt. It saw some use in
jug band music, since that craze began as the
mandolin fad was waning, and there were plenty of instruments
available at relatively low cost. Very rarely mandolins are played
with bottlenecks or slides. Sam Bush plays with a slide, mostly on
a four string mandolin.
The United Kingdom
The mandolin has been used extensively in the traditional music of
England and Scotland for generations, but the instrument has also
found its way into British rock music. The mandolin was used by
Mike Oldfield (and introduced by
Vivian Stanshall) on Oldfield's
album
Tubular Bells." It
was used extensively by the British folk-rock band Lindisfarne, who featured two members on
the instrument, Ray Jackson and Simon
Cowe, and whose "Fog on the Tyne"
was the biggest selling UK album of 1971-1972. "Maggie May" by Rod
Stewart, which hit No. 1 on both the British charts
and the Billboard Hot 100, also featured Jackson's playing.
It has also been used by other British rock musicians,
including Steve Howe of
Yes who plays the mandolin on the
songs I've Seen All Good
People and Wondrous Stories."
Led Zeppelin's bassist
John Paul Jones is an
accomplished mandolin player and has recorded numerous songs on
mandolin including "
Going to
California" and "
That's the Way;" the
mandolin part on "
The Battle of
Evermore" is played by
Jimmy Page,
who composed the song. Other Led Zeppelin songs featuring mandolin
are "
Hey Hey What Can I Do",
and "
Black Country Woman."
Pete Townshend of
The Who played mandolin on the track "
Mike Post Theme," along with many other
tracks on
Endless Wire.
McGuinness Flint, for whom
Benny Gallagher played the mandolin on their
most successful single, "
When I'm
Dead And Gone," is another example. Gallagher was also briefly
a member of
Ronnie Lane's Slim
Chance, and played mandolin on their hit "
How Come." One of the more prominent early users of
the mandolin in popular music were
The Incredible String Band, in
which
Robin Williamson played the
instrument extensively throughout the bands musical career.
Ian Anderson of
Jethro Tull is a highly accomplished
mandolin player (beautiful track "Pussy Willow"), as is his
guitarist
Martin Barre. The popular
song "
Please
Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" by
The Smiths featured a mandolin solo played by
Johnny Marr. More recently, the
Glasgow-based band
Sons and
Daughters have featured the mandolin, as played by Ailidh
Lennon, on tracks such as "Fight," "Start to End," and "Medicine."
British folk-punk icons
the
Levellers also regularly use the mandolin in their songs.
Current bands are also beginning to use the Mandolin and its unique
sound - such as South London's
Indigo
Moss who use it throughout their recordings and live gigs. The
mandolin has also recently featured in the playing of
Matthew Bellamy in the rock band
Muse. It also forms the basis of
Paul McCartney's 2007 hit "
Dance Tonight." That was not the first time a
Beatle played a mandolin, however; that
distinction goes to
George Harrison
on "Gone Troppo," the title cut from the 1982 album of the same
name. The mandolin is taught in Lanarkshire by the Lanarkshire
Guitar and Mandolin Association to over 100 people.
Ireland
The mandolin is becoming a somewhat more common instrument amongst
Irish traditional musicians. Fiddle tunes are readily accessible to
the mandolin player because of the equivalent range of the two
instruments and the practically identical (allowing for the lack of
frets on the fiddle) left hand fingerings.
Although almost any variety of acoustic mandolin might be adequate
for Irish traditional music, virtually all Irish players prefer
flat-backed instruments with oval sound holes to the Italian-style
bowl-back mandolins or the carved-top mandolins with f-holes
favoured by bluegrass mandolinists. The former are often too
soft-toned to hold their own in a session (as well as having a
tendency to not stay in place on the player's lap), whilst the
latter tend to sound harsh and overbearing to the traditional ear.
The f-hole mandolin, however, does come into its own in a
traditional session, where its brighter tone cuts through the sonic
clutter of a pub. Greatly preferred for formal performance and
recording are flat-topped "Irish-style" mandolins (reminiscent of
the WWI-era Martin Army-Navy mandolin) and carved (arch) top
mandolins with oval soundholes, such as the Gibson A-style of the
1920s.Noteworthy Irish mandolinists include
Andy Irvine (who almost always tunes
the E down to D),
Mick Moloney,
Paul Kelly, and Claudine
Langille.
John Sheahan and
Barney McKenna, fiddle player and tenor banjo
player respectively, with
The
Dubliners are also accomplished Irish mandolin players. The
Dubliners "Live at the Gaiety" DVD features an extensive mandolin
duet of a three-tune "set," two hornpipes and a reel. The
instruments used are flat-backed, oval hole examples as described
above: in this case made by UK luthier Fylde. The Irish guitarist
Rory Gallagher often played the
mandolin on stage, and he most famously used it in the song "Going
To My Hometown."
Australia
The earliest references to the mandolin in Australia come from Phil
Skinner MBE (1903–1991) In his article "Recollections" he mentions
a Walter Stent, who was “active in the early part of the century
and organised possibly the first Mandolin Orchestra in Sydney.” He
also refers to Roy Smedley, a student of Walter Stent, who
performed on the radio and “was a most outstanding mandolinist,
prominent over many years; his technique, choice of solos and stage
presentation left little to be desired, and the students he
produced did him great honour”.
Walter Stent is mentioned in the “S.S. Stewarts Banjo and Guitar
Journal” for the period 1884 to 1900 which, although published in
the USA, contained articles on news from Australia and New Zealand.
Walter Stent’s name appears many times.
In 1891, an article mentions Walter Stent in Sydney teaching banjo.
In 1892 there is a reference to a banjo concert in Sydney where
“The novelty of the evening was the American Banjo Quintette under
the leadership of Mr. Stent.” On 27 August 1896, Walter Stent held
his “third annual banjo, guitar and mandolin concert in Sydney”.
This is the first time the word "mandolin" appears in the
title.
By December 1899, the journal had changed it’s name to “S.S.
Stewarts Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar Journal”, and the Dec 1899-Jan
1900 issue features the 1899 Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar Festival”
held in Philadelphia, USA. The Festival orchestra comprises some
130 banjo and mandolin players. On the cover of this issue, equal
weight is given to the mandolin as well as the banjo, with the
featured mandolinist being Joseph Edward Pettine (Guiseppe
Pettine), a famous performer, composer and teacher.
Reading these articles leads one to conclude that the mandolin
movement in Australia grew out of the earlier and very popular
banjo movement of the late 1800’s. However, no evidence has been
found of Walter Stent’s mandolin orchestra other than it being
mentioned by Phil Skinner in his “Recollections” article.
Phil Skinner refers to Roy Smedley, a student of Walter Stent. Roy
is mentioned in the Courier Mail newspaper for 23 February 1934
that states he is on the programme for radio station 2BL, SYDNEY:
6:30 -Dinner music educational programme of dance music,
interspersed with items by Margaret ………(mezzo), Roy Smedley
(mandolin) and Walter ……. He is also mentioned in a series of
correspondence lessons for the mandolin published by The Arkins
Music Academy in Sydney, which state “in collaboration with
Christian Hellemann and Roy M. Smedley”. These were published from
the 1920’s to about 1949 and are held in the National Library of
Australia.
Phil Skinner played a key role in the development of the mandolin
movement in Australia in the 20th Century and was awarded an MBE in
1979 for services to music and the community. He was born Harry
Skinner in Sydney in 1903 and started learning music at age 10 when
his uncle (who couldn’t read music) tutored him on the banjo. Phil
began teaching part time at age 18 years until the Depression Years
forced him to begin teaching full time and learn a broader range of
instruments. Phil founded the Sydney Mandolin Orchestra, the oldest
surviving mandolin orchestra in Australia. He also played a role in
the development of some of Australia's leading mandolin players
including Keith Harris, Adrian & Paul Hooper and Stephen
Lalor.
In 1959, Phil Skinner commenced teaching 10 year old Keith Harris
(b. 1949 Sydney), on recommendation of Keith’s music teacher, Vic
Hodgson. Keith soon joined the Phil Skinner Neapolitan Orchestra
(now Sydney Mandolin Orchestra). Keith became a successful
international mandolinist and gave his debut perfomance at Wigmore
Hall, London on 22 January 1980 with pianist Leslie Howard. Keith
became a successful conductor and teacher himself, working at the
highest levels of mandolin in Germany.
In his “Recollections” article, Phil Skinner records his memories
about the early days of the Sydney Mandolin Orchestra. He reports
he has a photo of his student ensemble taken in 1935. There are 23
players wearing blue and gold sashes and the photo bears the title
“The Lane Cove Blue and Gold Ensemble”. There are 6 banjos, 1
Tenor, 8 mandolins, 2 guitars, 5 Hawaiian guitars and 1 ukulele
with Phil’s wife as pianist. Phil says that while this photo could
only be considered as a “get together” it became the starting point
for many happy gatherings, gradually developing into a more
balanced combination and ultimately a Mandolin Orchestra with
kindred instruments (eg. Banjo, Hawaiian guitars) on the wings to
add a little variety to our programmes.
Peter Evans & Joseph Ruecker, a mandolin player & classical
guitarist respectively, collaborated to form the Melbourne Mandolin
Orchestra in 1967, attracting to its ranks players of all ages who
had come to Australia from Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Germany as
well as Australian born music lovers.
On 30 January 1976 Harry Baker of the Fremantle Music School in
Western Australia organised a meeting to consider forming a
mandolin orchestra in Fremantle. Seventeen interested people
attended and decide to proceed. News of this is published in the
Independent Post on 4 February, 1976 along with an appeal for more
players. Robert Schulz, a music teacher, is appointed conductor.
The Fremantle-Coburn News announced that the Fremantle Music School
had put together a mandolin group consisting of 8 players (2 of
each: 1st & 2nd mandolin, mandola, guitar), but looking for
30-40 others. Initially called the Fremantle Mandolin Orchestra, it
later became the West Australian Mandolin Orchestra (WAMO) which
survives today (2009) with approx 30 players.
By 1974, a mandolin ensemble called Varianten has formed in
Geelong, Victoria and eventually becomes the Geelong Mandolin
Orchestra (GMO).
In 1975 the Keio University Mandolin Orchestra from Tokyo came to
Australia, hosted by the MMO and SMO.
In 1975 Sydney Mandolins formed comprising Adrian Hooper, Paul
Hooper, Joyce Bootsma and Barbara Hooper. This ensemble has made a
major contribution to mandolin music in Australia, with Adrian
Hooper being appointed to a mandolin teaching position at the NSW
Conservatorium of Music. A significant amount of mandolin music was
composed for this ensemble, and their lasting legacy is their
extensive recordings of these works, some of which are still heard
on ABC Classic FM radio today. Their recording of Ann Carr-Boyd's
"Fandango" was voted No 55 on the top 100 chamber works listeners
poll in 2009 (Australia wide). Adrian also established the
Mandolins Examination Board of Australia (MEBA) and a mandolin
examination syllabus in 1979. In 1980 Sydney Mandolins became "the
first mandolinists to be employed by Musica Viva – the largest
chamber music organisation in the world.” On 11 April 1982 Sydney
Mandolins performed at the Sydney Opera House with the concert
broadcast live over ABC radio. Adrian Hooper joined the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra to perform the mandolin part in Stravinsky’s
AGON on 6th February 1982.
In 1977 the Das Deutsches Zupforchester from Germany toured
Australia under conductor Fred Witt.
In mid 1978 Concordia Mandolin & Guitar Ensemble (CMGE) formed
and become the latest mandolin orchestra in Victoria. This was
initiated by Peter Evans and was a breakaway group from MMO.
In January 1979, the Federation of Australian Mandolin Ensembles
(FAME) Inc. was formed. Bruce Morey from Melbourne is the first
FAME President. Plans were made to send an Australian Mandolin
Orchestra on a tour to Germany which eventuated May 1980. The first
concert in Berlin on 8th May was attended by Konrad Wolki who said
the concert was the best he had heard for many years.
In 1988 the Danish Mandolin Duo (Kurt Jensen and Tove Flensborg)
toured Australia. Kurt later married Joan Harris of MMO and moved
to Australia permanently, playing an important role in the MMO. He
gave a wonderful solo performance at the Perth International
Mandolin Festival grand concert in 1997 aged 85 years, earning
great applause from the audience.
In 1989 the Hessisches Zupforchester visit Australia from Germany
and perform in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. Their conductor since
1986 is Australian Keith Harris. Also in 1989, the Mie Mandolino
& Mieken Sankyoku Kyokai (Koto Ensemble) visited Australia from
Japan.
In August 1991, the Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra tour Japan. Robert
Schulz from the WA Mandolin Orchestra joined with the orchestra as
a player for this tour. Robert's composition “Chalk Circle Suite”
is performed on 31 August 1991 at the Shimin-Kaikan Grand Hall. The
only other Australian composition performed was “German Teddy” by
George Dreyfus. Conductor is Fred Witt.
In January 1993 MMO hosted the Melbourne International Mandolin
Festival, the first international festival under the auspices of
FAME. The festival was most memorable due to stunning performances
by mandolinist Detlef Tewes from Germany. The Newes Wiener
Mandolinen und Gitarren-Orchester from Vienna, Austria also
attended the Festival. Concerts during the week were held at Melba
Hall, University of Melbourne, and the final concert held at the
Melbourne Town Hall.
In September 1993 Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra won first prize at
an international mandolin orchestra competition in Eupen, Belgium.
They were competing with over a dozen orchestras from Germany,
Holland, France and Belgium. MMO also attended the Logrono festival
in Spain, and met up with the Mandolinen Orchester Bayer-Leverkusen
in Cologne, and members of the Hessisches Zupforchester in
Frankfurt (who visited Australia in 1989).
In January 1994 Geoffrey Barber takes over from Stephen Morey as
FAME President with the main task of organising the 1997 Perth
International Mandolin Festival.
In May 1996 the Geelong Mandolin Ensemble reported as going into
recess following resignation of conductor Richard Sudmeyer. Final
concert 26th March 1996 at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Geelong. It
has never reformed and some members now play with Concordia
M&GE.
In May 1996 the Nara Ensemble from Japan visited Melbourne and
later Sydney. Later in May 1996 the Melbourne mandolin Orchestra
leave for their European tour. Concerts are held in Zurich, Bern,
Loerach, Brugge, Breda, Dortmund, Mengede, Schweinfurt and
Neuenheim.
In August 1996 the Nagoya Mandolin Orchestra and the Akashia Ladies
Orchestra from Japan visit Melbourne and perform at the Melbourne
Town Hall.
In 1997 WAMO hosted the Perth International Mandolin Festival, the
second international festival under the auspices of FAME. Robert
Schulz was commissioned to write “Rivendell” which was premiered at
the festival’s Grand Concert in Winthrop Hall on 11th January.
Rivendell was dedicated to the Baker family and told the story in
music of their departure from Holland and their arrival in
Fremantle where they founded the Fremantle Music School. Many
smaller concerts were held at Calloway Auditorium (Univ of WA), and
participants stayed at Currie Hall during the week. Overseas
orchestras who participated were the Takarazuka Mandolin Guitar
Orchestra from Japan, and the Fulda Guitar Ensemble from Germany.
Highlights included solo performances from Kurt Jensen and Sanae
Onji, and exciting performances by trio Troika from New Zealand,
featuring Alexandre Belin on Domra.
In 1998 Mandolins in Brisbane was formed - the first mandolin
orchestra in Queensland.
In May 2006 an Australian Mandolin Orchestra sponsored by FAME
tours Germany and Holland, and performs at the BDZ festival in
Bamberg, Germany. The orchestra is led by brilliant young
Queensland mandolinist Marissa Carroll (15 years old).
In August 2006, Geoffrey Barber (WAMO) formed the Australian
Mandolin Music Association Inc. to commission and freely distribute
new works for mandolin orchestra from Australian composers. As at
end 2009, eight works have been completed, including works from
Robert Schulz, Richard Charlton, Ann Carr-Boyd, John Peterson and
Betty Beath. These works have since been performed internationally
in Japan, UK, The Netherlands, USA as well as within
Australia.
- "Musical Instruments, A Comprehensive Dictionary," by Sibyl
Marcuse (Corrected Edition 1975)
- "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second
Edition," edited by Stanley Sadie and others (2001)
- Embergher History
- CIMCIM International Directory of Musical
Instrument Collections
- The Early Mandolin by James Tyler and Paul Sparks
(1989)
- The Classical Mandolin by Paul Sparks (1995)
- http://www.mandolinarchive.com/perl/show_mando.pl?55
- Tiny Moore
- The Man With The World's Most-Heard Mandolin Solo -
By Bill Graham - Special for the Mandolin Cafe
- Billboard Hot 100
- http://daniellarson.com/concerts/walz/walz_concert.htm
- http://www.mandozine.com/music/dawgtab/bthoven.php
New Zealand
The Auckland Mandolinata mandolin orchestra was formed in 1969 by
Doris Flameling (1932-2004). Soon after arriving from Holland with
her family, Doris started teaching guitar and mandolin in West
Auckland. In 1969, she formed a small ensemble for her pupils. This
ensemble eventually developed into the full size mandolin orchestra
which survives today. Doris was the musical director and conductor
of this orchestra for many years. The orchestra is currently led by
Bryan Holden (conductor).
The early history of the mandolin in New Zealand is currently being
researched by members of the Auckland Mandolinata.
Continental Europe
An
increased interest in bluegrass
music, especially in Central European countries such as the
Czech
Republic
and Slovak Republic
, has inspired many new mandolin players and
builders. These players often mix traditional folk elements
with bluegrass. Classically,
Beethoven
composed mandolin music and enjoyed playing the mandolin. Also very
well-known are the mandolin concerti by
Vivaldi. Some 20th century classical composers also
used the mandolin as their instrument of choice (amongst these are:
Schonberg,
Webern,
Stravinsky,
Zappa).
Portugal
The bandolim (Portuguese for
mandolin) was a favorite
instrument within the Portuguese bourgeoisie of the 19th century,
but its rapid spread took it to other places, joining other
instruments. Today you can see mandolins as part of the traditional
and folk culture of Portuguese singing groups and the majority of
the mandolin scene in Portugal is in Madeira Island. Madeira has
over 17 active mandolin Orchestras and
Tunas. The mandolin virtuoso
Fabio Machado is one of Portugal's most
accomplished mandolin players.The Portuguese influence brought the
mandolin to Brazil.
Greece
The
mandolin has a long tradition in the Ionian
islands (the
Eptanese) and Crete
.
It has
long been played in the Aegean
islands
outside of the control of the Ottoman
Empire. It is common to see choirs accompanied by
mandolin players (mantolinates) in Ionian
islands and
especially in the cities of Corfu
, Zakynthos
(also known as Zante) and Kefalonia
. The development of songs for mandolin
(kantades) developed during the Venetian
rule over Ionia
.
On the
island of Crete
, along with
the lyra and the laouto, the mandolin is one of
the main instruments used in Cretan
Music. It appeared on Crete around the time of the
Venetian rule of the island. Different variants of the mandolin,
such as the "mantola," were used to accompany the lyra, the
violin, and the laouto. Stelios
Foustalierakis reported that the mandolin and the
mpougari
were used to accompany the lyra in the beginning of the
20
th century in the city of Rethimno. There are also
reports that the mandolin was mostly a woman's musical instrument.
Nowadays
it is played mainly as a solo instrument in personal and family
events on the Ionian
islands and
Crete.
Brazil
The
mandolin (called "bandolim") has a long and rich tradition in
Brazilian
folk music, especially in the style called choro. The composer and mandolin virtuoso
Jacob do Bandolim did much to
popularize the instrument through many recordings, and his
influence continues to the present day. Some contemporary mandolin
players in Brazil include Jacob's disciple Deo Rian, and Hamilton
de Holanda (the former, a traditional choro-style player, the
latter an eclectic innovator).
The
mandolin came into Brazil by way of Portugal
. Portuguese
music has a long tradition of mandolins and mandolin-like
instruments (see, for example, the
Portuguese guitar).
The mandolin is used almost exclusively as a melody instrument in
Brazilian folk music - the role of chordal accompaniment being
taken over by the
cavaquinho and
nylon-strung violão, or Spanish-style
guitar.
Its popularity, therefore, has risen and fallen with instrumental
folk music styles, especially
choro. The later
part of the 20th century saw a renaissance of choro in Brazil, and
with it, a revival of the country's mandolinistic tradition.
India
Mandolin music was used in the Indian Movies as far back as the
1940s by the
Raj Kapoor Studios in movies
such as Barsaat, Awara etc. Adoption of the mandolin in
Carnatic music is recent and, being
essentially a very small electric guitar, the instrument itself
bears rather small resemblance to European and American mandolins.
U. Srinivas
has, over the last couple of decades, made his version of the
mandolin very popular in India and abroad. Many adaptations of the
instrument have been done to cater to the special needs of Indian
Carnatic music.
This type of mandolin is also used in
Bhangra, dance music popular in Punjabi
culture.
Japan
Instruments of the mandolin family are very popular in Japan. But
almost all of them are Neapolitan styles except bluegrass bands,
and the plucked strings are mandolin orchestras in old Italian
style.
Morishige Takei (1890-1949),
who studied Italian in The Imperial College of Language and was a
member of the court of Emperor
Hirohito,
established the mandolin orchestra in the Italian style before
World War II. The military government could not persecute Japanese
mandolinists by the authority of Takei and Italy as the Axis. But
since Japanese mandolinists had no fanatic patriotisms like Italian
mandolinists, so the Japanese mandolin orchestras continued to
perform old Italian works after World War II, and they are
prosperous today.
Western mandolinists tend to like solos, duets, trios, quartets, or
concertos performed by few players, but nearly all Japanese
mandolinists prefer orchestras with many players, perhaps
reflecting Japanese cultural tendencies. These orchestras can
consist of up to 40 or even 50 members, and may include wind or
percussion instruments.
Jiro Nakano (1902-2000) arranged many of
the Italian works for regular orchestras or winds composed before
World War II as new repertoires for Japanese mandolin
orchestras.
Original compositions for mandolin orchestras were composed after
World War II. Seiichi Suzuki (1901-1980), who is renowned as the
composer for early
Kurosawa films,
composed many symphonic poems for mandolin orchestras; his works
have quite a Japanese flavor.
Hiroshi
Ohguri (1918-1982) was influenced by
Béla Bartók, so his works are powerful
and quite racial. They were representative of contemporary Japanese
composers who also composed many works out of mandolins.
Yasuo Kuwahara (1946-2003) succeed to their
exotic worlds by the German techniques.
Hiroyuki Fujikake (1949- )
introduced swings or counterpoints or the chords from folk guitars
to compose new works for mandolin orchestras, which caught on
Japanese mandolinists.
Yoshinao
Kobayashi (1961- ),
Hidenori
Yoshimizu (1961- ),
Hiromitsu
Kagajo (1961- ), and many other amateur composers have imitated
Fujikake in this way.
Another trend of Japanese mandolin music is to perform arrangements
of famous classic works originally for regular orchestras.
Tadashi Hattori (1908-2008),
Jun Akagi (1919-2007), and
Takashi Kubota (1942- ) have added many such
arrangements as new repertoires for mandolin orchestras.
Japanese mandolinists tend to like melodic works mainly performed
by trembles, but they are poor at rhythmic works mainly performed
by pickings, due to the peculiar condition of Japanese musical
education. Japan adopted education in Western music following the
Meiji Restoration in 1868.
However, their government ill-advisedly separated songs from musics
including dances, and they taught their people only songs as the
Western music in schools. The Japanese loved melodic Italian works,
but could not understand rhythmic compositions originally created
for dances.
See also
Footnotes
- "Musical Instruments, A Comprehensive Dictionary," by Sibyl
Marcuse (Corrected Edition 1975)
- "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second
Edition," edited by Stanley Sadie and others (2001)
- Embergher History
- CIMCIM International Directory of Musical
Instrument Collections
- The Early Mandolin by James Tyler and Paul Sparks
(1989)
- The Classical Mandolin by Paul Sparks (1995)
- http://www.mandolinarchive.com/perl/show_mando.pl?55
- Tiny Moore
- The Man With The World's Most-Heard Mandolin Solo -
By Bill Graham - Special for the Mandolin Cafe
- Billboard Hot 100
- http://daniellarson.com/concerts/walz/walz_concert.htm
- http://www.mandozine.com/music/dawgtab/bthoven.php
External links
Further reading
CHORD DICTIONARIES
- — A very comprehensive chord dictionary
- — A case-style chord dictionary
- — A comprehensive chord dictionary
METHOD & INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDES