| Alto mandola |
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Usually simply called mandola and occasionally incorrectly tenor mandola, the modern alto mandola is the big brother of the mandolin. The standard tuning is c-g-d'-a' (like a viola), but there are a number of alternative tunings as well.
The scale length of the alto mandola can vary significantly. Traditionally it had a fairly long scale (420-515 mm), but around 1900 Gibson introduced a mandola with a much shorter (380-402 mm) scale.
For a while the short scale mandola was the dominating variant, but today the long scale version seems to regain popularity.
Instruments family tree
Technical data
| No. of strings | 8 (in 4 courses) String/course configuration (top course first):
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| Scale length | 380 - 515 mm |
| Frets | Fixed |
| Body shape | Lute |
| Top profile | Flat, bent or arched |
| Back profile | Flat, arched or bowl |
Tunings
| Name | Pitches | Comments | String gauges | Links |
Open chords | ||||
| Open D minor | The strings are tuned to a D minor chord. | |||
Other instruments | ||||
| Guitar | Like the three highest strings of a guitar. This is the tuning banjo players occasionally call "Chicago tuning." The tuning works better on a long-necked than a sort-necked mandola. |
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Fifths and fourths | ||||
| DA | Probably the most common alternative tuning. Tune the third and fourth string pair one note up. | |||
Open chords | ||||
| Open D | The strings are tuned to a D major chord. | |||
Other | ||||
| Half Eddie | Somewhat like the EFS tuning but with only the first string dropped down an octave. The name is my own invention - cheesy, but I like it. ;-) | |||
Fifths and fourths | ||||
| CG | Tune the first two string pairs one note down. | |||
Modal | ||||
| Modal G | First string pair tuned one note down. | |||
Fifths | ||||
| D | One note higher than standard tuning. It's especially useful to get a "octave mandolin" sound in Irish music. | |||
Other instruments | ||||
| Eddie Freeman Special (EFS) | Name often shortened to "EFS tuning." Like standard tuning, but with the two "top" courses tuned down an octave! Occasionally used for the tenor guitar and tenor banjo and there's no reason why it shouldn't work an the mandola too. It's great for close chords, but not very useful for solo playing. | |||
Fifths and fourths | ||||
| DG | ||||
Standard | ||||
| Standard | The tuning the mandola was originally made for. | |||
Fifths | ||||
| Octave mandolin | You can tune a long-necked alto mandola down to tenor mandola pitch, although I'm not sure I would really recommend it. | |||
Fifths and fourths | ||||
| AD | ||||
See also
Links
Internal links
Links to relevant pages at Musica Viva