The Trinidad bandolin is a variation of the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, smaller, approximately 24 x 40 centimeters. Its identity as a distinct instrument comes partly from changes made to the instrument on the island after World War I. Before that time, the instrument had a rounded back made of strips of wood, or occasionally the shell of a turtle. Today it can have either a flat or rounded back; the two are generally though not totally considered to be separate instruments. According to Lise Winer in the ''Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago: On Historical Principles'', some people use the term ''mandolin'' for the flat-backed instrument and ''bandolin'' for the round-backed instrument. The instrument has four courses of steel strings, like a standard mandolin and distinct from the Ecuadorean bandolin. The latter uses four courses of triple strings and is tuned in fourths. A standard mandolin uses four courses of double strings and is tuned in fifths. The Trinidad bandolin is also seen as distinct from the Trinidadian

bandol Bandol (; oc, Bandòu) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The Bandol wine region, lo ...

or bandola, which is the tenor instrument in the same family. It is used in Trinidad's ''

parang Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, and African heritage, something which i ...

'' music, accompanied by "

cuatro Cuatro is Spanish language, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4 (number), number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see cuatro (Puerto Rico), ...

, bandola and maracas".

References

Mandolin family instruments Trinidad and Tobago musical instruments {{Lute-stub