Mandola — CGDA tuning
Kalymi Music · Brent Robitaille
Mandola Chords (CGDA)
Complete Reference
96 essential chord shapes across all 12 keys, built for CGDA tuning. Free chord sampler below — full reference on the poster.
The mandolin family
What is a mandola?
The mandola is tuned CGDA — a perfect fifth below the mandolin, and the same pitch range as the viola. If you play mandolin, every chord shape you already know transfers directly: only the key centre changes. Mandola has a warmer, fuller sound that suits Celtic, folk, and classical repertoire especially well.
Mandola and mandocello both use CGDA tuning (mandocello sounds an octave lower). The chord shapes on this page work for all four instruments in the mandolin family — only the register differs.
| Instrument | Tuning | Similar to | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandolin | GDAE | Violin | Standard pitch |
| Octave mandolin | GDAE | Violin (lower) | One octave lower |
| Mandola | CGDA | Viola | Fifth below mandolin |
| Mandocello | CGDA | Cello | Octave below mandola |
CGDA tuning
How to tune a mandola
Mandola strings are tuned in perfect fifths from low to high: C–G–D–A. String 4 (lowest, nearest your chin when held in playing position) is C. String 1 (highest) is A — the same A as the top string of a violin or mandolin.
Each string is a doubled course (two strings tuned in unison), giving the mandola its characteristic ringing tone.
Viola and cello players find CGDA immediately familiar. Violinists playing mandola for the first time can treat the top three strings (GDA) as a direct match to their three lower strings.
Reference chart
Mandola fretboard notes (CGDA)
Every note on the fretboard from open string to the 12th fret, across all four CGDA strings. Use this alongside the chord library below to find alternate voicings and work out melodies by ear.
Free chord sampler — CGDA tuning
Mandola Chord Library
Two complete chord families free below — built on C and D, covering the most common Celtic and folk keys. The full set of 96 chords across all 12 keys is on the poster.
C chord family
8 chords · CGDA tuning
D chord family
8 chords · CGDA tuning
Remaining 10 keys — poster only
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About the author: Brent Robitaille is a Canadian music educator and publisher (Kalymi Music) with over 40 years of teaching experience and credentials from McGill University, York University, Humber College, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has published 60+ instructional music books across guitar, mandolin, ukulele, violin/fiddle, and related instruments.