Greek long-necked lute, also found in Ireland. The 19th-century bouzouki was indistinguishable from the Turkish bozuk with its carved wood or carvel-built bowl resonator, movable gut frets and wooden tuning-pegs. By the end of the 20th century it was exclusively carvel-built with fixed metal frets and metal machine tuning-heads. The instrument has three or four double courses of metal strings tuned e–b–e' and d–g–b–e' respectively and is played with a plectrum. The version with four courses of strings has developed since World War II.
During the first half of the 20th century the bouzouki and its smaller relations the tzouras and baglamas were used principally for virtuoso improvisation and for accompanying the Rebetika (songs associated with an urban low-life milieu). Their strong associations with the criminal underworld and hashish smoking led to official disapproval and even persecution of the instrumentalists. During the 1930s, however, the bouzouki, aided partly by the release of commercial recordings, began to reach a wider audience.
The earlier practice of improvisation was derived from the Turkish modal system (makam) and the melodic repertory drew extensively on the traditional music of Asia Minor, but since the 1940s Western musical influence has become more marked: Western major and minor scales have displaced the oriental makam as the framework for composition. The traditional bouzouki with three courses is unsuitable for playing chords (the bass strings are mostly struck open to provide a drone), while the bouzouki with four courses has widened the possibility of introducing Western-style chords. Both types of bouzouki are now played; the traditional performance style is maintained by some veteran musicians and has been taken up by some younger exponents.
The bouzouki has become the Greek urban instrument par excellence and is played throughout the Greek-speaking world. Greek composers trained in Western music, such as Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis, have used the bouzouki in their works, drawing on the old repertory of the instrument for melodic and rhythmic inspiration.
In the late 1960s the bouzouki was adopted by traditional musicians such as Johnny Moynihan and Donal Lunny who were involved in the folk revival in Ireland. Ballad bands such as Sweeney's Men and Planxty were among the first groups to use the instrument in Irish music, initially to accompany traditional and contemporary folksong and later to provide a chordal accompaniment for traditional Irish dance music. The construction of the instrument was modified in this rapid acquisition; the Irish bouzouki has a shorter neck than its Greek counterpart and a flat back rather than a rounded one. A variety of tunings have been used, the most popular being g–d'–a'–d''. The bouzouki has become one of the most important instruments used to accompany Irish traditional music.
See also United states of america, §II, 1 (iii) (f).
J. Cowdery: ‘Exploring the Bouzouki’, Back Porch, no.1001 (1981) [incl. cassette]
W. Spires: ‘The Bouzouki: its Evolution and Modern Transformation’, Frets, vii/3 (1985), 24–9
N.N. Fhíonaghaile: The Adoption and Transformation of the Greek Bouzouki in Irish Music Tradition (thesis, London U., 1990)
N. O'Connor: ‘Instruments and Players: Bouzouki and Guitar’, World Music: the Rough Guide, i: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, ed. S. Broughton and others (London, 1999), 175 only
M. Dubin and G. Pissalidhes: ‘Rembétika’, World Music: the Rough Guide, i: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, ed. S. Broughton and others (London, 1999), 128–32
The Storm, perf. Moving Hearts, Son
Planxty, Shanachie (1973)
Musique pour bouzouki solo et orchestre, perf. L. Karnesis and Orchestre Théodorakis, Galata/Le Chant du Monde GAL–503 (1978)
‘Orchestreca’: the Magic of the Greek Bouzouki, perf. M. Terzis, ARC Music EUCD 1206 (1992)
For further bibliography and recordings see Greece, §IV and Rebetika.
R. CONWAY MORRIS (with SANDRA JOYCE, NIALL KEEGAN)