Mandolin may also be found. Chord dictionaries Method and instructional guides Mandolin A mandolin ( ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is usually plucked with a plectrum or "pick". It commonly has four courses of doubled metal strings tuned in unison (8 strings), although five (10 strings) and six (12 strings) course versions also exist. The courses are normally tuned in a succession of perfect fifths. It is the soprano member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass. There are many styles of mandolin, but three are common,
Mandolin that used steel or steel-and-bronze strings. Pasquale Vinaccia (1806–c. 1882), modernized the mandolin, adding features, creating the "Neapolitan" mandolin c. 1835. Pasquale remodeled, raised and extended the fingerboard to 17 frets, introduced stronger wire strings made of high-tension steel and substituted a machine head for the friction tuning pegs, then standard. The new wire strings required that he strengthen the mandolin's body, and he deepened the mandolin's bowl, giving the tonal quality more resonance. He didn't introduce the bent soundboard, as it was present in some of the instruments made by the previous generation for bronze strings. Other luthiers who