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bandolim

Bandolim

Brazil · 1900s
HappyDancingSentimentalChillRomantic

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Description

Bandolim is the Brazilian mandolin tradition, centered on the 8‑string, double‑coursed mandolin (tuned like the violin: G–D–A–E) and, in modern practice, the 10‑string bandolim popularized by virtuosi in the 2000s. The instrument sings the lead voice of choro and related salon‑born Brazilian forms—polcas, valsas, mazurkas, schottisches and maxixes—using an expressive tremolo, agile scales, and crisp syncopation.

More than just an instrument, “bandolim” refers to a performance idiom: lyrical, ornamented melodies over a swing that is light yet driving, supported by cavaquinho, violão (6‑ and 7‑string guitars), and pandeiro. Its vocabulary blends European dance forms and harmony with Afro‑Brazilian rhythmic feel, producing an unmistakably carioca (Rio de Janeiro) lyricism that later traveled far beyond Rio into all of Brazil’s choro scenes.


Sources: Spotify, Wikipedia, Discogs, Rate Your Music, MusicBrainz, and other online sources

History

Late 19th–early 20th century: Roots and formation

European mandolins reached Brazil in the late 1800s, meeting a bustling salon and street‑music culture in Rio de Janeiro. Choro ensembles were already blending European dance forms (polka, schottische, mazurka, waltz, modinha) with Afro‑Brazilian rhythmic sensibilities (from lundu and maxixe). By the early 1900s, the Brazilian mandolin—called bandolim—had become a favored lead voice for this new instrumental songfulness, prized for its cantabile tremolo and agility.

1930s–1950s: Virtuosity and standardization

Across the mid‑century, bandolinistas codified technique and repertoire in radio orchestras, regional conjuntos, and rodas de choro. Repertoire expanded to include choros, valsas, and serenatas written specifically for the instrument, while ensemble roles (bandolim lead; cavaquinho and 6‑string guitar comping; 7‑string guitar bass/contramelody; pandeiro groove) became standardized.

1950s–1960s: A golden voice

The bandolim’s expressive apex arrived with iconic soloists and tight regionais, shaping articulation (singing tremolo, mordentes, turns), phrasing (periodic, lyrical arcs) and harmony (chromatic inner lines, circle‑of‑fifths motion, abundant secondary dominants and diminished passing chords). Recordings from this era cemented the idiom and circulated nationally.

1970s–1990s: Institutionalization and revival

Clube do Choro organizations, festivals, and dedicated ensembles helped preserve and teach the style. Reissues, method books, and inter‑regional exchanges (Rio, São Paulo, Brasília, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre) nurtured a revival, putting bandolim back at the center of rodas and concert stages.

2000s–present: Expansion and global reach

A new wave of virtuosi introduced the 10‑string bandolim, extended range, and jazz‑inflected harmony, projecting the instrument into choro contemporâneo and Brazilian instrumental music. Conservatories and community schools now teach bandolim, and international tours and recordings have made its bright, singing timbre a global ambassador of Brazilian instrumental tradition.

How to make a track in this genre

Ensemble and instrumentation
•   Lead: bandolim (8‑string; modern players may use 10‑string for extended range). •   Rhythm/comping: cavaquinho (light percussive chords), violão 6‑cordas (chordal accompaniment), violão 7‑cordas (bass lines and counterlines), pandeiro (groove and articulation).
Form and repertoire
•   Write in classic choro dance‑song forms: often AABBACCA (or AABBCC), 16‑ or 32‑bar sections. •   Include contrasting sections: A lyrical/cantabile, B agile and modulatory, C more brilliant or in relative/minor/IV areas.
Harmony and voice‑leading
•   Favor circle‑of‑fifths motion, secondary dominants, diminished passing chords, brief tonicizations, and chromatic inner lines. •   Common modulations: to the relative minor/major, IV, or dominant. •   Keep bass (7‑string guitar) moving with guide‑tones; let cavaquinho “feather” off‑beats to reinforce swing.
Rhythm and feel
•   Medium‑brisk tempos (e.g., 120–180 BPM for choros) with a buoyant, forward lilt. •   Pandeiro marks subtle subdivisions; comping emphasizes off‑beats and short anticipations. •   Use rubato tastefully for intros/cadences, but maintain danceable pulse overall.
Bandolim technique and phrasing
•   Tremolo as your “sung” line: sustain long tones by alternating pick quickly and evenly. •   Articulation: mix tremolo with single‑note runs, triplet ornaments, mordentes, turns, and chromatic approach tones. •   Pick direction: strict alternate picking for clarity; employ cross‑picking to outline arpeggios. •   Phrasing: shape 2‑ and 4‑bar sentences; breathe at cadences; answer motifs between sections.
Arrangement and recording tips
•   Start with a short rubato introduction (solo bandolim), then drop to groove. •   Let 7‑string counter‑melodies converse with the bandolim between phrases. •   Record bandolim with a small‑diaphragm condenser slightly off the f‑holes to balance attack and tremolo; capture room for natural sparkle.
Practice workflow
    •   

    Transcribe classic choros to absorb idiomatic ornaments.

     •   

    Harmonize a simple melody using circle‑progressions and diminished passing chords.

     •   

    Orchestrate for regional ensemble, assigning fills to 7‑string and cavaquinho.

     •   

    Add a short cadenza or modulating bridge to showcase virtuosity.

Best playlists

The Sound of Bandolim
The Sound of Bandolim
Every Noise at Once
Bandolim
Bandolim
Chosic
Bandolim Mix
Bandolim Mix
Spotify
Best of Bandolim
Best of Bandolim
volt.fm
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Influenced by
Classical
Classical music is the notated art-music tradition of Europe and its global descendants, characterized by durable forms, carefully codified harmony and counterpoint, and a literate score-based practice. The term “classical” can refer broadly to the entire Western art-music lineage from the Medieval era to today, not just the Classical period (c. 1750s–1820s). It privileges long-form structures (such as symphonies, sonatas, concertos, masses, and operas), functional or modal harmony, thematic development, and timbral nuance across ensembles ranging from solo instruments to full orchestras and choirs. Across centuries, the style evolved from chant and modal polyphony to tonal harmony, and later to post-tonal idioms, while maintaining a shared emphasis on written notation, performance practice, and craft.
Modinha
Modinha is a sentimental art song that took shape in late-18th‑century Portugal and flourished in Brazil during the 19th century. It is typically an intimate, lyrical piece for solo voice accompanied by guitar (violão) or keyboard, featuring graceful, cantabile melodies, expressive rubato, and ornamental turns derived from Italianate vocal style. Texts dwell on love, longing, jealousy, and refined melancholy, often crafted by poet–musicians for salon performance and twilight serenades. Stylistically, modinha sits between European chamber song and local popular practice, absorbing Portuguese courtly taste, Italian opera influence, and Afro‑Brazilian color through contact with lundu.
Lundu
Lundu is an Afro‑Brazilian dance‑song that emerged in colonial Brazil, blending Bantu‑derived rhythms with Portuguese melodic and harmonic practices. Typically set in 2/4 with marked syncopation and a swaying groove, it was both a circle dance (often featuring the playful umbigada gesture) and a sung genre accompanied by guitar and hand percussion. In its urbanized, salon form of the late 18th and 19th centuries, lundu became a fashionable entertainment in Brazil and Portugal, sharing space with the modinha. Its music commonly features strophic verses with a recurring refrain, call‑and‑response, and light, flirtatious texts. Instrumentation ranges from voice and violão (6‑ or 7‑string guitar) or cavaquinho to pandeiro, atabaque, and handclaps.
Polka
Polka is a lively Central European couple dance and musical style in a brisk 2/4 meter, characterized by its buoyant “oom‑pah” bass-chord accompaniment and bright, diatonic melodies. Originating in Bohemia (today’s Czech Republic) in the early 19th century, it quickly became a pan-European craze before taking root across immigrant communities in the Americas. Ensembles typically feature accordion or button box/concertina, clarinet or saxophone, trumpets/trombone, tuba or string bass, and drum kit, with regional variants highlighting different lead voices and rhythmic feels. While the classical ballroom tradition codified polka into formal strains (often AABB with a contrasting trio), folk and popular styles favor singable tunes, simple I–IV–V harmonies, and tempos commonly around 115–135 BPM, inviting upbeat social dancing and communal celebration.
Waltz
Waltz is a dance-music genre in triple meter, most commonly in 3/4 time, marked by a strong accent on the first beat and the characteristic “oom–pah–pah” accompaniment (bass note followed by two chords). Emerging from Central European folk dances and adopted by urban salons, the waltz spans both functional dance repertoire and concert pieces for piano or orchestra. Tempos vary by style: the Viennese waltz is fast and flowing, while the slow/English waltz is measured and lyrical. Melodies are typically long-breathed and cantabile, with 8- or 16-bar phrases and frequent modulations to closely related keys. The genre is culturally tied to Vienna and the Habsburg lands, where composers such as the Strausses and Lanner helped codify its form, but it has since permeated ballroom traditions, art music, folk repertoires, film, and popular music worldwide.
Schottische
Schottische is a partnered social dance and tune type that emerged in mid‑19th‑century Central Europe and quickly spread across ballrooms and village dances. Typically in 2/4 (sometimes 4/4) at a moderate tempo, it features a characteristic step pattern (step‑step‑step‑hop) followed by a turning figure, creating a gentle, gliding feel. Musically, schottische tunes are usually built from two 8‑bar strains (AABB), use diatonic melodies in major keys, and are accompanied by a pronounced oom‑pah rhythm. Fiddles, diatonic button accordion, clarinet, piano, and small dance bands are common. The dance took root under different names and flavors: as schottis in Scandinavia, chotis in Spain (especially Madrid), and xote in Brazil, where it entered the forró tradition.
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance and musical genre in triple meter, characterized by strong accents on the second or third beat and by distinctive dotted and syncopated rhythms. It originated in the Mazovia region of Poland and became both a social dance and an instrumental idiom. In the 19th century the mazurka moved from village floors to European salons and concert halls, where composers—most famously Frédéric Chopin—transformed it into a refined art-music genre while preserving its rustic rhythmic markers and modal colorings. Today, the mazurka exists as a living folk dance tradition and as a classical piano form, emblematic of Polish musical identity.
Salon Music
Salon music is a style of intimate, audience‑friendly concert music that flourished in 19th‑century European salons—private social gatherings hosted in homes and bourgeois venues. Typically written for solo piano (and later for small “salon orchestras”), it favors short, self‑contained pieces with lyrical melodies, clear tonal harmony, and immediately graspable forms. Two major types predominate: operatic paraphrases/fantasias that weave popular opera tunes into a virtuosic, showpiece narrative; and character pieces (nocturnes, barcarolles, humoresques, waltzes, mazurkas, polkas) that paint a mood, story, or scene. Its expressive profile ranges from sentimental lyricism to dazzling virtuosity, often using rubato, elegant dance rhythms, and ornamented right‑hand lines over flowing accompaniments. Title choices are evocative and programmatic, designed to engage listeners quickly in an intimate setting.
Has influenced
Brazilian Jazz
Brazilian jazz is the meeting point of Brazilian popular music and North American jazz, blending samba and bossa nova rhythms with jazz harmony, improvisation, and ensemble interaction. The style typically features syncopated Brazilian grooves (samba, bossa, partido‑alto) under extended jazz chord voicings and lyrical melodies. Acoustic guitar or piano often supplies a gently propulsive, off‑beat rhythmic bed, while bass and drums translate samba’s surdo and pandeiro patterns to the jazz rhythm section. Timbres range from intimate (nylon‑string guitar, brushed drum kit, flute) to expansive (full percussion batteries, horns, and electric keys). The overall feel can be both laid‑back and danceable—romantic yet harmonically sophisticated.
Mpb
MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) is a broad Brazilian popular music movement that crystallized in the mid-1960s after bossa nova. It blends samba and other regional rhythms with jazz harmony, singer‑songwriter craft, and elements of contemporary pop and rock. The style is marked by sophisticated melodies, extended harmonies, inventive arrangements, and lyrically rich songs that often use poetry and metaphor. Many classic MPB works balance intimacy (voice and violão/nylon‑string guitar) with lush studio orchestration, drawing from samba‑canção, choro, baião, and frevo while engaging modern influences. Historically, MPB provided a platform for social commentary during Brazil’s military dictatorship, with artists employing allegory to navigate censorship. It remains a living tradition that continually renews itself through new generations (“nova MPB”).
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