Michalis Zarmakoupis

Bouzouki Lessons in Rotterdam - All Levels

Learn through the songs you love!

Hello! My name is Michalis Zarmakoupis. I am a professional bouzouki player from Athens, living in the Netherlands since 2019, and I teach bouzouki at my private studio in Rotterdam Alexander (and online), on both the four-course (tetrachordo) and the three-course (trichordo) instrument. Whether you have never held the instrument or you already play and want to go deeper, my private lessons are built around one simple idea: you learn fastest when you are playing music you actually love.

Songs first, Theory along the way

Most people do not come to the bouzouki because they want to study scales. They come because of a song. The best reason! From your very first lesson we work on real repertoire. Everything else, the notes on the fretboard, the scales, the rhythms, the chords, the right hand technique, comes out of the songs we play rather than out of a dull exercise book. When a song sits in 9/8, that is the moment you learn what 9/8 feels like. When a piece moves through Hijaz, that is the moment Hijaz stops being a word and becomes a sound you recognise. Theory arrives exactly when you need it, and because it is attached to music you care about, it stays.

Discover the Bouzouki

What you learn without it ever feeling like homework:

• The fretboard: where the notes actually are, so you stop guessing and start seeing the instrument
• The scales: Hijaz, Ousak, Rast, Kartsigar, Sabah, Niavent and the rest, how they are built and how they behave in real songs
• The rhythms: zeibekiko, hasapiko, tsifteteli, karsilamas, kalamatianos, aptaliko, how to feel them, count them and hold them steady
• Chords and accompaniment: how to back up a singer or another player, how to build a second voice, and how to hear which chord belongs where
• Right hand technique: pick control, tremolo, dynamics, the details that separate "mechanical" playing from sounding nice
• Reading: as much or as little as you want, from tablature to standard notation.

Experienced Bouzouki Teacher

I studied music theory and piano at a conservatory from the age of six, and I have been teaching since 2016. What I have learned in that time is that the traditional "listen and copy me" method works, but it works far better when it is supported properly in a modern way.

So the lessons use modern tools:

• You get written material: tabs, notation, chord charts and fretboard diagrams for everything we work on, in a folder that becomes your personal method book
• Backing tracks and play-alongs at adjustable tempo, so you practise in time and with a groove from day one
• A clear practice plan between lessons: what to play, how long, and what "done" looks like, so you never sit down wondering where to start
• Feedback between lessons: send me a short video of your practice and get concrete feedback.

Play the Bouzouki with realistic Goals and visible Progress 

Most of my students have jobs, studies or families. Progress does not come from marathon practice sessions, it comes from short, focused, regular ones. I will help you build a routine that goes together smoothly with a busy week, with realistic goals and visible progress every month. 

Playing should be the good part of your day, not another item on the to do list.

Which music will you play?

Rebetiko, laiko, entehno, and modern Greek songs too. If you already have a list of songs you dream of playing, bring it to the first lesson. If you do not, I will bring plenty of suggestions and we will find out together what moves you.

Tetrachordo, trichordo, or both!

I teach both bouzoukis. The four-course bouzouki (tetrachordo, four double strings, tuned C F A D) is the modern instrument you hear on most laiko recordings, and it is where most people start. The three-course bouzouki (trichordo, three double strings, tuned D A D) is the older rebetiko instrument, with its own sound, its own positions and its own way of thinking about the fretboard.

Beginners and Bouzouki

No musical background needed. In the first lessons we sort out how you hold the instrument and the pick, how to get a clean sound, and how to find your way around the fretboard, and you will be playing a recognisable melody quickly. From there we add one song at a time, and the theory grows quietly underneath.

Advanced players, dromoi and taximi

If you already play, we work on the things that are hard to get from videos: refining your technique, deepening your knowledge of the scales, understanding how the old masters phrased, and building your own taximia and solos. 

Improvisation

Improvisation is not a gift you either have or you do not, it is a skill with a method behind it: a lot of listening, targeted exercises, and clear guidelines. We will develop your ear, your vocabulary and the confidence to use them.

Bouzouki Lessons for Children

I also teach young students. With children the approach is playful and relaxed. Short focused moments, plenty of playing together, songs they know, and no pressure. The goal at that age is that the instrument stays in their hands because they enjoy it, and the discipline follows on its own.

Book a Trial Lesson

Not sure yet whether the bouzouki is for you? More experienced bouzouki player looking for more technique and inpiratioin? A trial lesson is the easiest way to find out. We get to know each other, discuss your favourite music, and we play from the first minute. If you want to continue, we can start right away.

No bouzouki yet?

Not a problem. If you have a guitar, we can retune it to get you started. During the first lesson you can try my instrument and see how it feels, and I am happy to advise you on what to buy and what to avoid when you are ready. We can also start with rhythm, listening and a bit of theory, so you already have a foundation the day your bouzouki arrives.

Languages

I teach in Greek and in English.

Where I teach

Welcome to my music studio in Rotterdam Alexander, and online for students anywhere. Online lessons are full lessons, with live feedback, shared material and recordings.

About me

I was born in Athens in 1988. I grew up surrounded by music. My parents and their friends played the amateur way, at gatherings and celebrations. At six I started piano and music theory and continued until I was fourteen, then came the guitar, and at eighteen I started bouzouki lessons and never put the instrument down again. Alongside the playing I kept studying theory and music history, and sang in conservatory choirs.

• From 2010 I played professionally in Greek tavernas and on live stages and took part in music and theatre productions. In 2016 teaching came into my life, and being able to pass on even a little of my love for this instrument is something that fills me like nothing else. When I moved to the Netherlands in 2019 the bouzouki naturally came with me. I still teach, play in Greek venues, and perform with choirs that sing the Greek repertoire.
• I also run kalabortzis.com, a free online resource where I gather everything I have learned about the bouzouki, theory, dromoi and rhythms, and explain it as simply and clearly as I can. My students get the benefit of that material too.
• The name says something about how I teach. In Greek musicians' slang a «καλαμπόρτζης» (kalabortzis) is the player who wings it, someone who plays a little roughly or learns things only on the surface. I keep the word with a wink and a different meaning: mistakes will happen, they are an inseparable part of learning, and they should never scare us. In my lessons you can try things, get them wrong, and learn without any stress.