What is this instrument called?

The musical instrument in the picture is called a mandolin. It belongs to the lute family of instruments and has a variable number of strings. It looks a lot like a guitar: this instrument with half-pear-shaped body and a fretted neck. The techniques are also similar to guitar finger picking techniques. The mandolin is also often plucked with a plectrum. The first instrument of this kind was developed from the mandola, a lute from the 17th century. It had 5 double strings. The usual modern mandolin (also widely known as the Neapolitan mandolin) has 4 pairs of strings and is a bit smaller that the original. Notable uses of the mandolin in serious music are in Mozart's Don Giovanni and in pieces by Beethoven and Mahler.

There are many styles of mandolin, but three are common, the Neapolitan or round-backed mandolin, the carved-top mandolin (shown here) and the flat-backed mandolin. The round-back has a deep bottom, constructed of strips of wood, glued together into a bowl. The carved-top or arch-top mandolin has a much shallower, arched back, and an arched top—both carved out of wood. The flat-backed mandolin uses thin sheets of wood for the body, braced on the inside for strength in a similar manner to a guitar.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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30 Comments

Kathryn Cavanagh

I had one many years ago, my father had rebuilt it from the strips he found on the rubbish dump..!! Unfortunately I couldn't play it, but a few years later I was amazed by a young by of 10 who picked it up and started playing a tune. Stringing the same as guitar which he was learning. So I gave it to him, much to his father and mother's delight..useful to him and not to me.

Chris Vander Veen

Does not look anything like my mother's.

jugah

We had a mandolin and a guitar and that photo looks much more like a guitar than our mandolin.

Coral Harvey

Michael Doherty, no because broccoli and Brussel sprouts are both part of the brassica family . It doesn't make them the same either in appearance or taste !

Helga U. Williams

Every mandolin I have ever seen were round-backed. I didn't even realize there were flat mandolins. 🙄

Corey Taylor

"Listen to the Mandolin Rain, listen to the music on the lake. Ah, listen to my heart break, every time she runs away." --Bruce Hornsby, 1987

Char

Chris Vander Veen, or any I've seen which is not many

Mr.LaFaye

My neighbors growing up had a local band and these were one of the many instruments they used.

Mr.LaFaye

Linda Lucke, No you are incorrect, and to mock you a "Horrible" reply. There is a distinct difference. A mandolin has commonly four courses of doubled metal strings tuned in unison (8 strings), An 8-course Renaissance lute usually has 15 strings, and a 13-course Baroque lute has 24. A Mallard is a specific type of Duck. When cooked properly it tastes pretty good.