Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index A mandola is a stringed musical instrument. Mandolas have 8 strings, in 4 pairs. Each pair of strings is tuned in unison, and are a fifth apart from adjacent pairs, giving an identical tuning to a viola (C-G-D-A low-to-high), a fifth lower than a mandolin. Unlike a viola, the neck of a mandola is fretted and it is typically played with a plectrum. Like the guitar, the mandola is a poorly sustaining instrument --- a note cannot be maintained for an arbitrary time as with a viola. Similar instruments are the mandolin, the octave mandolin (an octave below the mandolin), and the mandocello (octave mandola), which is tuned an octave below the mandola (like a cello). All of these have 8 strings tuned in unison. Mandolas are commonly used in Irish music and folk music. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.