A mandolin is a small, stringed musical instrument which is plucked, strummed or a combination of both. It is descended from the mandora. It normally has eight metal strings in four pairs (courses) that are plucked with a plectrum. Four-string (one string per course), twelve-string (three strings per course), and sixteen-string (four string per course) variants also exist. It has a body with a teardrop-shaped soundtable (i.e. face), or one that is essentially oval in shape, with a soundhole, or soundholes, of varying shapes that are open and not latticed.