The mandolin descends from the lute. Its name goes back to an instrument which appeared for the first time in the 17th century and bore the name mandora or mandola. It is very similar to the lute, but a little smaller. The mandolin belongs to the family of the plucked instruments, because in order to produce a sound the strings must be plucked by a plectrum. The plectrum is a small drop-shaped piece of plastic. The mandolin has 4 pairs of strings with the tunes of a violin, i.e.: mi ,la, re, sol. The size, too, is the same, but the mandolin’s fingerboard is divided by frets. The specific characteristic of this instrument lays in the tremolo. In order to produce a perfect tremolo one must strike the double strings with the plectrum by a quick, constant and even movement so that one single sound comes out which is very similar to the sound a bow produces on the violin. By the tremolo the artist interprets and phrases the music and thus fills it with life. The very special sound of this instrument is enrooted in our humanistic culture to such a degree that everybody recognizes a mandolin at the first sound.

The orchestra of plucked instruments:

The first orchestras of plucked instruments were created in Italy and in Europe by the end of the18th century. The mandolin very quickly conquered all social classes and was played everywhere. From this resulted the necessity to unite the players into groups. Thus the first orchestras for mandolins were formed, orchestras that were oriented on the ones for violins.

The orchestra’s instruments:

Mandolins, mandole (larger than the mandolin, in the orchestra it is their task to play the part of the viola),Mandoloncelli (larger than the mandola, they have the same tune and pitch as the cello), Mandoloni (often they stand for the contrabass), guitars and contrabasses.