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.
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Lovely to see and wonderful to hear, thanks :)
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I love it!! Despite not being much of a dancer I felt like prancing around to that Zorba the Greek tune! :-)
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I didn’t realize there was an Irish version :D Fun!
The Multicolored Diary: Weird Things in Hungarian Folktales
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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
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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
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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
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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. :)
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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.
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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/
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What a beautiful instrument. The Irish version has a decidedly banjo sound to it.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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Such a distinctive sound. Love listening to these while I visit the other A to Zers. Thanks, John!
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There’s a ton of it on YouTube, so you can keep the party going… there might even be a playlist or two…
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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
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I can see that. Thanks for stopping by!
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Nice to learn more about an instrument I’ve heard on occasion. Well done.
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Thanks! There’s plenty more where that came from.
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I love the sound of it! It is unique and fun. I’ll have to youtube some more music for it!
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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
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What a fascinating instrument. Though a music buff, I learnt something new today.
Natasha
natashamusing
April Anecdotes
Burden or Unburden
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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.
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Wow sounds fascinating. :)
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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 …
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Does she play mandolin? It probably has more in common with that than the ukulele, although they’re both stringed instruments.
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Fascinating! I love the shape of the bouzouki.
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These have particularly nice inlay work, too.
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A beautiful sound. I wonder if the bouzouki and oud have any common ancestors?
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They’re both forms of lutes, I think.
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Now I am going to have the theme from Zorba the Greek running through my mind as I start my commute in the snow…
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Makes you want to get out and dance while people throw plates at you, doesn’t it?
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