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The Carnatic mandolin is the electric mandolin as U. Srinivas (1969 to 2014) played it in South Indian classical music. He began on his father's acoustic mandolin at about five or six, and later played a five-string electric instrument with single strings in place of the Western four double courses. Real World Records describes it as resembling the Western mandolin but fitted with a contact microphone.

You can learn the Carnatic mandolin with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and every beginner starts at Foundation level. Foundation begins with your instrument's string layout and a stiff pick, striking each course cleanly before any melody. We teach children as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a mandolin size for a younger learner.

If you are returning after a long break, our courses run in levels, so you start again where you left off. Your teacher reviews where you stand first.

A Srinivas-style Carnatic mandolin has five single strings, and sources differ on how Srinivas tuned them. The standard Western mandolin has eight strings in four courses, each pair tuned in unison, in fifths G-D-A-E like a violin. Check the string layout before you buy an instrument for Carnatic music.

The mandolin evolved in Italy from earlier lutes, with the gittern and the mandore or mandola named as predecessors. The Neapolitan mandolin, tuned like a violin and played with a pick, was developed in Naples around 1750; its bent soundboard probably derived from the chitarra battente. The Vinaccia family of Naples made sought-after mandolins in the 18th century.

When buying a mandolin for Carnatic music, start with the string layout. Srinivas-style instruments use five single strings, which differs from standard eight-string Western mandolins and from four-string single-course electrics. Standard mandolin scale length is about 330 mm, and Gibson-style American mandolins are about 350 mm.

You can buy a mandolin set up for Carnatic music from KalaSudha, by quote or made to order, and we deliver worldwide. Choose the string layout first: five single strings, or eight in four courses. We pack every instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance.

We service and repair any mandolin worldwide, wherever you bought it, and supply strings and spare parts. For help after the sale, use the chat on any page or email [email protected]. Gift vouchers, class sets for schools and a flight case for travel are worth asking us about as well.

The European mandolin is fretted, with four double courses of wire strings, tuned like a violin and played with a pick, as a 1772 Neapolitan example at the V&A shows. The Saraswati veena of Carnatic music is a long-necked lute whose 24 frets sit in a ridge of beeswax. For Carnatic music U. Srinivas played a five-string electric mandolin with single strings in place of the double courses.

The Milanese mandolin is the earlier type: a 1757 example at the V&A has five or six pairs of strings tuned more like a guitar, tied to the bridge and played with the fingertips. The Neapolitan mandolin has four double courses of wire strings, tuned like a violin and played with a pick. The V&A notes that Vivaldi wrote his mandolin concertos for the Milanese type.

A Neapolitan mandolin by Antonio Vinaccia, made in Naples in 1772 and now at the V&A, shows the classic build. Its rounded body is made of 21 fluted maple ribs, and the belly bends inwards at the level of the bridge. The neck carries 10 silver frets, and eight rear pegs hold four double courses of wire strings: two steel, one brass and one overspun.

The Neapolitan mandolin is tuned like a violin and played with a pick, as the V&A describes its 1772 Vinaccia example. The older Milanese type was played with the fingertips instead. In Carnatic music U. Srinivas played a five-string electric mandolin, which Real World Records describes as resembling the Western mandolin but fitted with a contact microphone.

You can book a Carnatic mandolin player through KalaSudha for a concert, event or recording. Ask us through our page to book Indian classical musicians. Before you choose, hear our artists in KalaSudha's recordings and watch our concert videos.