Bandola
Encyclopedia
This article refers to various South American instruments. Bandola is also Portuguese for Mandola
.
The Bandola is one oif many varieties of small pear-shape chordophone
s found in Venezuela
and Colombia
. They are related to the Bandurria
and Mandolin
.
Mandola
The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
.
The Bandola is one oif many varieties of small pear-shape chordophone
Chordophone
A chordophone is any musical instrument that makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification....
s found in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. They are related to the Bandurria
Bandurria
The bandurria is a plectrum chordophone from Spain, similar to the cittern and the mandolin, primarily used in Spanish folk music.Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had with a round back, similar or related to the mandore. It had become a flat-backed instrument by the 18th century, with five...
and Mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
.
Traditional varieties
There are 3 main types of Bandolas:- Bandola Llanera - These have traditionally only 7 Frets but often nowadays more. They have 4 strings and are said to be the oldest. Special ones have also been made with 10 frets used by Prof. Saúl Vera and a 14 fret version used by Prof. Moisés Torrealba.
- Bandola Andina Colombiana - This one has 6 courses. They are made in four different styles: 12 string versions where each course is doubled. 14 string versions where the first two courses are tripled and the rest are doubled. 16 string versions where the first four courses are tripled and the last two are doubled. Finally, there is an 18 string version with 6 triple courses.
- Bandola Oriental - This one is like the Bandola Lianera but with a deeper body and 4 double courses with 8 strings in all.
- There is also a bandola in Trinidad and Tobago. It has 4 double courses of strings for 8 in total. The lower 2 courses have 1 steel and 1 nylon string each, and the higher 2 courses have all nylon strings.
Modern varieties
- Luís Alberto Paredes Rodríguez and Manuel Bernal Martínez build a range of Bass Bandolas or Bandola Bajo. These instruments have 12 strings in 6 courses and a fanned fretboardMulti-scale fingerboardA Multi-scale fingerboard is an instrument fretboard which incorporates multiple scale lengths. The scale length is the vibrating length of the strings....
.
- Some mandolin players convert their instruments to a Bandola Oriental by adding a fixed bridge and stringing with nylon strings.