Neapolitan-style mandolin with bowl-shaped body and decorative soundhole. The mandolin is one of the most distinctive plucked string instruments in European musical tradition. Although today it is strongly associated with Italian folk music and the image of serenading street musicians, its history is closely connected with the urban musical culture of Italy from the eighteenth century onward. In terms of construction and tuning, the mandolin belongs to the same broader family as the lute and the guitar , while the arrangement of its strings closely resembles that of the violin . The mandolin is a plucked string instrument with paired metal strings (courses), played with a plectrum and producing sound through the vibration of its strings. The History of the Mandolin The modern mandolin appeared during the eighteenth century as an evolution of the mandola , a medieval Italian instrument with a body resembling that of the lute. From its earliest development, the instrument spread widely...
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