What Is the Difference Between Greek Bouzouki and Irish Bouzouki?

History of Bouzouki

The bouzouki is a stringed instrument belonging to the long-necked oud family. It's a mix of guitar and bass. Therefore, it is not a very balanced instrument. The guitar and baglama mix features the fretboard, the baglama strings, and the guitar fret arrangement. With its egg-shaped body and long neck, the bouzouki comes from the same family as the baglama, kopuz and oud. Rebetika is an active musical instrument of musical culture. The bouzouki are also found in Irish folklore. The bouzouki, whose front part is usually decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays, is played with a plectrum or pick.

We can divide the bouzouki into three types:

1. Trichordo has three pairs of strings.
2. Tetrachordo has four pairs of strings.
3. The Irish Bouzouki has four pairs of strings and a straight back.

The 3-string bouzouki is the classical bouzouki style introduced in the 1900s and is the mainstay of most rebetiko music. It has fixed frets and 6 strings in three pairs. On the low-pitched (bass) pitch, it consists of a double thick coiled string and a thin string tuned one octave apart. The traditional modern tuning of the Trichordo bouzouki is D 3 D 4 –A 3 A 3 –D 4 D 4. This setting has been dubbed the "European setting" by Markos Vamvakaris, who mentions (but fails to describe) several other tunes or douzenia in his autobiography.

The absence of heavy mother-of-pearl ornamentation, which is often seen in modern bouzouki, is typical of the bouzouki of the period. It has a tuner for eight strings but only six strings, the neck is too narrow for eight strings. Luthiers of the time often used four-chord sets on trichordo instruments, as they were also used on mandolins, because they were more easily accessible.

The most important issue in bouzouki lessons is to obtain the specific sound of the bouzouki. The grip of the pick and the position of the wrist play a major role in the production of the desired sound. The quality, brand and frequent replacement of strings are important factors affecting the bouzouki sound.

What is the Greek Bouzouki?

Greek Bouzouki is a wired tool with a long neck and a pear-shaped body. When you see Bouzouki, it can remind you of the oud or mandolin. Like these, their body is made of wood shavings and covered with 3 or 4 double-choir lysed pairs of metal strings. This means that two strings are a little closer to each other and have the same sound. These two equal strings are always struck by the player together. A bouzouki is tuned deeper than a mandolin.

Strictly speaking, the bouzouki is not a traditional Greek instrument at all, but still quite young. Although there is some evidence that it evolved from ancient Greek tambour, it is more related to the Turkish saz. The Bouzouki came to modern Greece at the same time as the Rembetiko. This genre of music, also known as "Greek Blues", came to Greece in the 1920s. More specifically, to Piraeus, where the many refugees displaced from Smyrna and other parts of Asia minor settled. Often without great musical knowledge, the players met after their work in the Kafenion and played together – mainly improvisations. The good bouzouki players were distinguished by their "fast fingers". And this is still the case today.

What is the Irish Bouzouki?

Irish Bouzouki is an adaptation of Greek Bouzouki. Johnny Moynihan introduced the 4-String classic Greek Bouzouki to Irish traditional music in the mid-1960s and included it. In the early 1970s, Donal Lunny set the octave strings in the two courses of the Bouzouki's G and D as combined strings. With this adjustment, the low frequencies became stronger. He then asked for a bouzouki to match the specifications of the Lunny classic 4-string Greek Bouzouki and ordered it. There was only one difference. This bouzouki consisted of one-piece wires and three partially pulled back pieces. Since then, Greek Bouzouki has no longer been like himself and it has been Irish Bouzouki adapted to Ireland's style!

After Greek Bouzouki visited Ireland, designers rolled up their sleeves and developed new designs of this magical instrument for Irish traditional music. In doing so, they expanded the body of the bouzouk and replaced the rounded, one of the most distinctive features of the Greek Bouzouki, with a flat back with flat sides. A hybrid Irish Bouzouki with a three-piece back and straight edges appeared afterward.

Greek Bouzouki vs. Irish Bouzouki

Greek Bouzouki is the original part of this mince and is a 100-year-old instrument. This beautiful instrument has a sparkling, light, and discerning sound, and Greek Bouzouki has many variations within the framework of this main idea. The 6-String is the oldest version of Greek Bouzouki, and playing the 6 String has a more rhythmic effect compared to the 8-String. Irish Bouzouki has a three-piece back and the edges are flat. Irish Bouzouki's body has a stronger design to make his voice shaky. So you can hear a more "strong and toned" sound than Irish Bouzouki.