Bandola

Bandola llanera

The bandola is one of many varieties of small pear-shape chordophones found in Venezuela and Colombia. They are related to the bandurria and mandolin.

Traditional varieties

Bandola llanera tuning.

Instruments known as bandola include:

• Bandola llanera: traditionally with only seven frets and four nylon or gut strings. Venezuelan musicians Saúl Vera and Moisés Torrealba have used larger 10 and 14-fret versions, respectively.
• Bandola andina colombiana: this instrument has six courses of strings in several different arrangements. It may have 12 strings in doubled courses, 14 strings with the first two courses tripled and the rest doubled, 16 strings with the first four courses tripled and the last two doubled, or 18 strings in triple courses.
• Bandola oriental: like the bandola llanera but with a deeper body and four double courses with eight strings in all, with both nylon and metal strings.

Modern varieties

• Luís Alberto Paredes Rodríguez and Manuel Bernal Martínez build a range of bandola bajo ("bass bandola"). These instruments have 12 strings in six courses and a fanned fretboard.^[1]
• Some mandolin players convert their instruments to a bandola oriental by adding a fixed bridge and stringing with nylon strings.^[2]

Gallery

• 

  A group of bandola llaneras and cuatros.

• 

  Bandolista (bandola player) Moisés Torrealba playing a bandola llanera.

• 

  A bandola andina colombiana (right) and a bandola llanera (left).

• 

  Two musicians playing bandola andina colombiana.

• 

  Two musicians playing bandola andina colombiana.

• 

  A bandola bajo.

See also

• Venezuelan music

Notes