mandolin

The mandolin has four pairs of steel strings tuned in unison, giving it a bright, shimmering tone. The paired strings are strummed or picked rapidly with a plectrum, and the tremolo technique — fast, continuous back-and-forth picking on a pair of strings — is the instrument's most characteristic sound. The mandolin family includes the mandola, octave mandolin, and mandocello, covering a range similar to the string quartet. Vivaldi wrote a concerto for mandolin, and Mozart included it in Don Giovanni. In the 20th century, the mandolin became essential to bluegrass music through Bill Monroe, and it features prominently in Italian folk music, Celtic music, and Brazilian choro.