The bouzouki is a string instrument that’s like a mandolin or a 12-string guitar in that its steel strings come in pairs, tuned either in unison or an octave apart. Like a lute, it also has a rounded back. There are two kinds, a trichordo, with three sets of strings, and a tetrachordo, with four. It’s the instrument that gives Greek music its familiar sound.

The trichordo is the original bouzouki. It was introduced to Greece from Turkey around 1900. The pair closest to the player (on top) are tuned an octave apart, the other two pairs are tuned in unison. Here are Lakis Karnezis and Kostas Papadopoulos on trichordos, playing a familiar tune.
The tetrachordo was developed in the 1950’s and was made popular by Manolis Chiotis, who tuned it like a guitar, much to the chagrin of purists. Here are Mr. Chiotis with singer Mary Linda with “Laos kai Kolonaki” and “Pare me sto tilefono,” from the 1959 movie Laos kai Kolonaki.
Kind of reminds me of Django Reinhardt…
In the mid-1960’s, Johnny Moynihan introduced the bouzouki to Irish music, and soon the Irish bouzouki evolved, with a flatter back, four pairs of strings, and tuned differently than the original instrument. Here is YouTube user TijnB42, who appears to be Dutch, with the reel “MacArthur Road.” You can see how different from the original instrument the Irish one is.
So we have a Dutch player of a Greek instrument playing an Irish reel. Quite a mashup of ethnicities…
There’s plenty more bouzouki music out on YouTube, if you’re interested.
Lovely to see and wonderful to hear, thanks :)
LikeLike
I love it!! Despite not being much of a dancer I felt like prancing around to that Zorba the Greek tune! :-)
LikeLike
I didn’t realize there was an Irish version :D Fun!
The Multicolored Diary: Weird Things in Hungarian Folktales
LikeLike
Interesting read….thanks for sharing your musical knowledge.
Donna B McNicol, author & traveler
Romance & Mystery…writing my life
A-Z Flash Fiction Tales: http://dbmcnicol.blogspot.com
A-Z of Goldendoodles: http://ourprimeyears.blogspot.com
LikeLike
How neat! I can see this collection of eight-letter words is going to be eclectic, and I love it!
Jamie Lyn Weigt | Theme: Odds and Ends Dragons | Writing Dragons
LikeLike
My husband listens to a lot of Irish music. I wonder if he’s familiar with the Irish version of the bouzouki. Weekends In Maine
LikeLike
Amazing how fast the guys fingers are moving! This is a wonderful instrument, and I like the sound of it in all 3 versions. Good 8 letter word to learn of. :)
LikeLike
I love the cultural mashup here, and I’m fascinated at how the Greek instrument morphed into the Irish one, and yet both sound so perfect for their culture’s music. Music is indeed a fascinating and quite mysterious thing in my mind.
LikeLike
I’ve always enjoyed Greek music but had no idea that they had a special instrument. At first, I thought you were writing about bazookas. Ha! Keep up the good work! I think I’m 349 on the list – In my own words at http://www.dianeweidenbenner.com/brrr-someone-frosted-the-trees/
LikeLike
What a beautiful instrument. The Irish version has a decidedly banjo sound to it.
LikeLike
Love this instrument and just had to watch the first one and see how well these men played the Balalaika so cleanly. I also love the 3rd one because that kid is amazing! Great choice for this letter
LikeLike
It’s an interesting instrument, and kind of interesting that it’s such a late addition to the family of instruments, because Greek music is some of the oldest, and I’m positive some of the songs are based in those old melodies. Especially interesting was the fact that it was brought to Ireland and evolved into a quite different instrument.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember Zorba the Greek (Anthony Quin) dancing to this beautiful music. I must have been about ten years old when I saw the movie and it made a great impression on me. And then, of course, there was Demis Roussos – Die Bouzouki, die Nacht und der Wein! Beautiful memories.
LikeLike
Hi John – I certainly didn’t know the name … the music of Zorba the Greek = yes!! But excellent mix of Dutch, Irish and Greek – fun .. while the film I’ve never heard of – so that was lovely to hear … cheers Hilary
LikeLike
Such a distinctive sound. Love listening to these while I visit the other A to Zers. Thanks, John!
LikeLike
There’s a ton of it on YouTube, so you can keep the party going… there might even be a playlist or two…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting instrument I’ve never heard of before. The sound reminds me a little of a banjo. Thanks for the lesson John!
Emily In Ecuador | Boats in Puerto Lopez
LikeLike
I can see that. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
Nice to learn more about an instrument I’ve heard on occasion. Well done.
LikeLike
Thanks! There’s plenty more where that came from.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the sound of it! It is unique and fun. I’ll have to youtube some more music for it!
LikeLike
Like I said, there’s a lot of it out there, some with dancing, like this one… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Mu6jynJ_g
LikeLike
What a fascinating instrument. Though a music buff, I learnt something new today.
Natasha
natashamusing
April Anecdotes
Burden or Unburden
LikeLike
Never seen or heard the bouzouki? We have a Greek Orthodox church near us that has a festival every year, and there’s a lot of bouzouki playing there. The kids all know the traditional dances, too. It’s like the music is part of their DNA. After a while, you can’t get enough.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow sounds fascinating. :)
LikeLike
As I was reading this I was thinking of Zorba the Greek – I love how it speeds up. Real soulful music, thank you .. I wonder if it’s similar to the ukelele and instrument that my daughter-in-law plays …
LikeLike
Does she play mandolin? It probably has more in common with that than the ukulele, although they’re both stringed instruments.
LikeLike
Fascinating! I love the shape of the bouzouki.
LikeLike
These have particularly nice inlay work, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful sound. I wonder if the bouzouki and oud have any common ancestors?
LikeLike
They’re both forms of lutes, I think.
LikeLike
Now I am going to have the theme from Zorba the Greek running through my mind as I start my commute in the snow…
LikeLike
Makes you want to get out and dance while people throw plates at you, doesn’t it?
LikeLiked by 1 person