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Celtic Music — Mandolin, Mandola, Bouzouki

Consider the instruments used by your favorite celtic group -- certainly, there's a fiddle ... and there may be a tinwhistle and perhaps some bagpipes.  There's probably a guitar and a bodhran (a sort of handheld drum) -- but what about those other stringed instruments?

You may find a mandolin or a mandola in the group -- and perhaps a bouzouki.  In fact, a bouzouki may take the place of the guitar.  What makes these instruments useful in celtic folk music?

First off, you're probably familiar with a mandolin.  It's a small (pretty much violin-sized) strummed or plucked instrument -- you can finger chords on it and strum it, or you can pluck individual strings to play a melody.  Mandolin's are common to most types of folk or country music.  They have essentially the same scale length as a violin (the strings are about the same length) -- in fact, it's normally tuned exactly like a violin -- GDAE!  This makes it very easy to learn both instruments. 

The mandolin has a high, ringing tone.  When playing accompanying chords, the mandolin's high pitch and sharp attach have an almost percussive effect ... making it an excellent rhythm instrument. Since the mandolin isn't loud when individual notes are plucked, most solo playing requires a fast and repeated picking technique.

The mandola is a little larger than the mandolin -- giving it a lower pitch.  Some tune it a fifth down from a mandolin -- CGDA.  Some folks even tune an entire octave lower -- although the scale length isn't really long enough for proper intonation.  The lower tones alter the effect of strummed chords -- instead of a sharp and ringing attack (like a mandolin), the effect is much closer to a guitar where the chords flow naturally to the background.  Sharp and bright chords jump to the forefront of a song -- sometimes this is good, but usually you want your rhythym instruments to be complimentary, not a featured solo instrument.

If lower is better for chord playing, then why not go all the way to an octave mandolin?  Tuned like a mandolin to GDAE ... except an octave lower ... the octave mandolin also has a scale length close to a guitar.  And here's where we start running into problems!

How far can your fingers stretch?  Most chords on a guitar span 4 frets at the most -- with 3 being the most common maximum stretch.  Mandolin chords often span 4 frets -- with some having a 5 fret span.  When played on a short scale mandolin, this stretch isn't a problem.  When the scale length approaches 2 feet or so (about a guitar's scale length), the required fret stretch is simply too much for most players.

A bouzouki has this same problem -- originally used for Greek folk music, a bouzouki is tuned like an octave mandolin.  This lower tuning makes it ideal for a celtic rhythm instrument -- except for the required fret stretch.

Because of this, you often see bouzoukis or octave mandolins tuned differently for celtic music -- GDAD.  Chord fretting in this tuning is much easier and the longer scale length (a few inches longer than an octave mandolin) results in deep, long sustaining chords -- making a bouzouki a perfect rhythm instrument for celtic music!

Joey Robichaux operates Celtic Sheet Music, where mandolin players can freely download over 3,000 celtic tunes!