Music Teachers - Bouzouki
About Bouzouki lessons
What is a Bouzouki?
The bouzouki is a stringed instrument, played with a plectrum (pick) and it has either 3 or 4 double strings. Each pair consists of 2 strings that are tuned to the same pitch per pair. The instrument's thin, long neck is divided by frets, just like a guitar. Inlay markings are also applied to the fretboard, allowing you to orient yourself and play the correct notes more easily. It belongs to a family of long-necked lutes that includes the Turkish saz and the ancient pandura, instruments depicted on Greek vases as far back as 350 BC. The modern bouzouki as we know it, three or four couples of metal strings over a rounded spruce top, crystallised in Greece in the early twentieth century.
Convex back
The egg-shaped, convex soundbox of the Greek bouzouki consists of thin wooden strips (struts) that are bent into shape over a mold and glued together. For the best instruments, wood from the mulberry, walnut, maple, cherry, rosewood, or acacia tree is chosen for this.
The top
The top is very important for the resonance and clear sound of the bouzouki. The top is almost always made of a soft softwood. A builder selects his material and looks for wood with a fine, straight, and even grain. Spruce or cedar wood is particularly suitable.
What kind of music do you play on the Bouzouki?
The bouzouki is the heart and soul of Greek music. Whether you are drawn to the smoky, raw sound of pre-war rebetiko, the warmth of laïká, the rich scales of Turkish and Ottoman music, or the authenticity and emotion of Greek folk music dimotika, there is a world waiting to be discovered.
How do you play the Bouzouki?
You pluck the bouzouki with a plectrum or mezrab. You can easily learn this technique if you practice regularly.
Where does the bouzouki come from?
The origins of the Bouzouki lie in antiquity with the Greek pandoura, but the modern bouzouki emerged in the early 20th century. Greek immigrants from Anatolia brought the instrument to Greece around 1900. There, the bouzouki became the most important instrument of Rebetiko.
Rebetiko
Rebetiko is a narrative and emotional musical style that gives voice to the 'soul,' 'duende,' 'saudade,' or whatever you want to call it, of the musicians and listeners. Rebetiko has a musical charge that touches you deeply, and which you also experience in Blues, Tango, Soul, Flamenco, and other emotional world music styles. However, classical music or pop also possesses this charge, and whether it appeals to you ultimately determines your musical choice.