Mandolin

A small, short-scale instrument with four pairs of strings tuned in unison courses, sitting an octave above a guitar and known for a bright, cutting tremolo.

The doubled strings are the point: each pair beats slightly against itself, giving a shimmer and a longer perceived sustain than a single string of that length would give. Its tuning in fifths means chord shapes differ entirely from a guitar's, and closed-position chords move in larger jumps as a result. Because it is loud in the upper midrange, it carries easily in an acoustic group without amplification.

Example: rapidly alternating the pick across a pair of strings produces the mandolin's characteristic tremolo, used to sustain notes that would otherwise decay immediately.

Mandolin

See also