Transcript Mandolins - Markham College

Mandolins
Rafael Delgado-Aparicio
What is a Mandolin?
• The Mandolin, also spelled
MANDOLINE, is a small
stringed musical
instrument related to the
lute. It evolved in the 18th
century and was built in
several varieties in
different Italian towns, the
Neapolitan mandolin
becoming the
representative type.
Why the name?
• It is probable that the origional instrument
was the mandola and this evolved in the 15th
century. So why mandola?
• In Italian, the word mandorla means
almond. So in other words it is referring to
the shape and colour of the instrument.
• A later, smaller mandola was then known as
the mandolina; mandolin in English.
Its Structure
• The instrument's form and
proportions were strongly
influenced by the maker
Pasquale Vinaccia of
Naples (1806-82).
• The pear-shaped body is
deeply vaulted; the
fingerboard, with 17 frets,
is slightly raised.
• At its widest part, where
the bridge is set, the belly
angles downward,
increasing the pressure of
the strings on the bridge to
give a brilliant tone of
great carrying power.
Its Strings
• The mandolin has four pairs
of steel strings tuned, by a
machine head (as on a
guitar), to violin pitch (gd'-a'-e).
• The strings are hitched to
the instrument's end.
• Quick movement of the
plectrum across each
unison pair of strings
produces a characteristic
tremolo. A shell plate
around the oval sound hole
protects the belly from
damage by the plectrum.
The mandolin’s Tremolo
• The mandolin is characterized by a special
musical device called the tremolo.
• The tremolo is referred to as the quick
repetition of one note, which is obtained by
the movement of the plectrum. It is also
referred to as the quick back and forth
repetition of the same two notes, normally
one third apart.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
• In the novel, the captain
probably owns and old Italian, or
Neapolitan, mandolin.
Nowadays, it has evolved and
changed tremendously.
• Old Italian mandolins have a
round back that can slide
around on your belly when you
play it. Most modern ones have
a flatter back and are easier to
play standing up. The two types
have slightly different sounds.
The Mandolin’s Family
• Just as the violin has a family (the violin, viola,
'cello and double bass) so does the mandolin. The
names of these are the mandola, mandocello and
mandobass.
Instrument
Mandolin
Tenor mandola
Octave mandola
Mando cello
Mando Bass
Tuning
GDAE
CGDA
GDAE
CGDA
EADG
Scale length
360mm430mm-530mm
530mm-580mm
580mm??
How to tell mandolins apart from
mandolas, citterns, etc.
• Scale length (measured from the nut to the bridge) is the main way to
tell what you are dealing with. The range is from about mandolin size
to a bit longer than guitar size (roughly equal to an acoustic bass)... and
this makes all of the difference. You can get the same note at several
different lengths, but each will emphasize a different octave or two of
the instrument most prominently. A mandolin, for example, tends to
ring most loudly on the middle two courses of strings, the D and A.
• This is another interesting factor- the bass strings are sometimes in
octaves, going low to high from the bass side to the treble side (the
opposite of a normal 12-string guitar tuning). Unisons are never
exactly in unison (either it is fantastically hard to get them spot on, or
slight differences in the strings make it impossible) but they are still
very closely in tune. … Continued on Next Slide…
More differences
• …This produces that sound that separates the Mandolin style
instruments from a 6-string guitar. The fact of the matter is that there
are different sounds created by different stringing styles, but that
doesn't seem to differentiate one instrument from another in name so
much as scale length and tuning do.
• A teardrop shaped instrument--Sobells, Gibson mandolin family "A"
models, Fylde, and other makes) tends to have a large resonant sound,
with both strong bass and treble. Round-backed instruments (Greek
bouzoukis, old "tater-bug" mandolins) have more of a "ploonk" sound,
and are focused more on the bass than the treble. Deeper soundboxes
seem to create more resonance and bass emphasis, shallower ones
project louder with more emphasis on the "zing" or treble. Sobells
come in either "small", "large", or "giant" in any of the mandolin
family instruments. a "small" is about the size of a mandola,
considerably bigger than a Gibson mandolin. This emphasizes treble,
and creates a "zing" sort of sound. A "large" will create a big bass
sound, a lot of resonance, and more sustain.
Its cousin: the lute
• It is a stringed instrument widely played in the
14th to 18th centuries and revived in the 20th
century; also, generically, any stringed
instrument having strings that run in a parallel
plane to the soundboard and along a protruding
neck.
• The lute developed its classical form by about
1500. It has a flat fir belly, or soundboard, and a
deep, extremely lightweight, pear-shaped body
made by bending narrow strips of wood (ribs)
and gluing them side by side. Tied onto the
neck and fingerboard are seven to ten gut frets.
Six pairs (“double courses”) of strings run from
tuning pegs (set in a pegbox that angles sharply
back from the neck) to a bridge glued to the
belly.
Mandolins all over the world
• In a gallery in Washington, a painting by Agnelo
Gaddi (1369- 1396) depicts an angel playing a
miniature lute called the mandora. The miniature
lute was probably contrived to fill out the scale of
16th century lute ensembles. The Assyrians called
this new instrument a Pandura, which described its
shape. The Arabs called it Dambura, the Latins
Mandora, the Italians, Mandola. The smaller
version of the traditional mandola was called
mandolina by the Italians.
Mandolins nowadays
• Today the mandolin continues to be a popular and
vital instrument. In country music, the mandolin
has made quite a comeback since the heyday of
the Nashville Sound in the 60's and 70's. In the
early 80's, the syrupy strings and layered vocals
gave way to a powerful neo-traditionalist
movement that re-introduced the mandolin to
country audiences. In rock music, the mandolin
has been present consistently since the late 60's.
English folk-rock, the acoustic-tinged albums of
Rod Stewart, and the heady acoustic ballads of
Led Zepplin all made the mandolin a familiar
sound to rock audiences. Today, the present
interest in 'unplugged' music continues to
showcase the mandolin.