TERMIUM Plus^®

Record 1,  Textual support,  English

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 CONT

Related to the lute, the mandolin is a small stringed instrument constructed of wood. Its eight wire strings are tuned in pairs to the same notes as those of a violin. The distinctive tremolo sound of the mandolin is created by quick movements of the plectrum (pick) across the four courses, or pairs, of strings. Although the 18th-century instrument was built in several varieties in different Italian towns, the mandolins built in Naples eventually became the representative type now known as the Neapolitan mandolin. The ribbed, pear-shaped body of the Neapolitan mandolin is attached to a neck containing a fingerboard, usually with 17 frets. The strings are hitched to the bottom of the instrument's body, then pass over a bridge and are tuned at the top of the neck.  3, record 1, English, - Neapolitan%20mandolin

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 2 CONT

The mandolin appears to have descended from the medieval gittern in Italy, where it took two forms. One was the Milanese or Lombardian mandolin ... with six double courses of strings tuned in thirds and fourths. The other was the Neapolitan mandolin ... with four double courses tuned in fifths as in the modern mandolin.  4, record 1, English, - Neapolitan%20mandolin

Record 1,  Textual support,  French

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 CONT

La mandoline napolitaine apparaît vers la fin du XVIIIe [dix-huitième] siècle. [...] Elle comporte quatre chœurs de cordes métalliques. Elles sont grattées au moyen d'un plectre.  3, record 1, French, - mandoline%20napolitaine

Record 1,  Textual support,  Spanish