I'm 82 now and have played my Fender Irish Bouzouki for over ten years now. It's my go it instrument over the fiddle, banjo, mandolin, saws and tenor guitar. Second is tenor guitar and third is my banjo, love music and play often at my church as well as out and about with friends.At my age I have few loves left, but music is still #1 for this senior fellow. I live in northern N.M, and we have our own style of music here, brought here 100's of years ago from Spain. Also church, all forms of street music as well as personally generated music as I feel a need to speak through my music about a given subject. God welling, I'll be able to play for at least another 10 years then Author will have control of my fingers, he's knocking on the door now but I refuse to let him in just yet.
I've played guitar for several years, but I just retired and wanted to try to learn the Irish Bouzouki which I absolutely love the sound of! At 69, my dexterity is not quite what it once was, but I got more time to learn now...I hope 😅.
Thanks for the video lessons. I am just starting out. I have fiddle but no guitar experience. I think your videos are going to really give me a leg up.
Hello! I'm currently thinking of trying out bouzouki and I'm trying to figure out if the instrument will serve my needs properly. I'm not really into Irish/Celtic folk music, though I like historical and historicalish music. I really like what, for instance, Luc Arbogast produces. I'd love to incorporate a Zouk to, well, kind of a medieval bard 'cosplay'. Also - folk jam sessions would be open for me! I prefer actually sad sounding melodies - mostly in minor keys. Like, for instance, Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits (I know it's not medieval or something, it's just for a reference to a well-known melody). Will the bouzouki be a good instrument for my needs? Maybe in a mandolin tuning? I'd love to try out lute but they're way to expensive. Thank you in advance!
Hey, interesting questions. I think the bouzouki would be well suited to what you're looking for. One of its strengths, when tuned to GDAD, is the ability to play lots of 'fifth chords', which are chords that are neither major nor minor. They have a droney, 'medieval' sound to them (my Key of D and Key of G videos mention fifth chords). It's a good instrument for playing melodies, accompaniment, and even both at once. A down side is that there is not a great deal of material out there beyond the beginner stuff, so you would have to work out how to get the sound you want for yourself. Overall I think it would be a good choice, and is a good alternative to the lute. Also maybe check out mandolas, which are a similar instrument, closer to a mandolin. Cheers, Bob.
I had one built by Elloree Stringed Instruments in Louisiana (find under Elloree Guitars on Facebook; you can see pics of the build there, too) for0less than the price of a new Gold Tone or Trinity...came out absolutely gorgeous and sounds spectacular. Rick is an awesome luthier to work with.
Brilliant. I play guitar in a Shanty band and not all the tunes are in C or G. Bought a chord book but find chords a bit difficult to hold down as neck is small and hands are big. Is there any way around this. Thanks .keep up the good work
I would look at a 12 string. Longer necks. Look at either an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird 12 string, or a Taylor 150CE. Both come under a grand. See if your local music store has any and try some out. The one that resonates with you the most is the one you should get. I hope that helps you out!
I play guitar and I'm thinking of purchasing a Bouzouki, but I'm not really sure what to buy. Any model you'd recommend for a beginner? A lot of talk about "high action" on the cheaper options. Is this common among most bouzoukis?
I'd recommend a Hora bouzouki. They are a Romanian instrument manufacturer and make all sorts of very good quality stringed instruments that sell for very low cost. I purchased an Irish bouzouki off eBay for just under 200$ that included a gig bag and I was blown away by the quality. Not to mention the sound! I highly recommend Hora instruments. They can be found on eBay all day every day.
I have mine tuned to the same note. Some people play with the G and low D pairs an octave apart. Makes it sound bright and jangly, I prefer the fuller bass sound of unison strings.
I have all my strings in unison tuning. A lot of people have the low G and low D courses in octave tuning. It sounds lovely, and very jangly. I prefer unison tuning for stronger bass, and it stops the melody from 'jumping' up and down as you play across all the strings.
I put octave strings on G D and A of my octave mandolin. You do give up some bass sound, and you get a "janglier" sound, but it's a lot easier to fret with the left hand, so you can play longer with more stamina. And it is easier to be "lighter and fleeter" on the strings. I have gone back and forth on the octave string issue over the years. But I think settled on the octave method. Both are great instruments, but I prefer OM over Irish bouzouki, because of the shorter scale length , and I tune GDAE because I often play lead as well as rhythm and I play mandolin and fiddle. It's all good. ;)
I think that it is important to have minor and major. Sorry. Couldn’t I just tune last string to E and play my F# and F. I know what yer thinking, Hey dummy this is Celtic , we want the drone. But lots of folk songs especially make a wide use of the minor chords. IE green sleeves, Scarborough Fair.....You know what I mean. Does everyone tune like this? I play mandolin and guitar, but the mandolin was killing my arthritis. Wanted larger scale. Is a mandola the same size?
Yes, absolutely. The point of this video is to introduce people to the GDAD tuning, and the way it can be used to make those 'neither major nor minor' sounds that celtic accompaniment is becoming known for (but of course the idea of 'accompaniment' in Celtic music is relatively new, so there are no rules). GDAD is probably more common in the Irish bouzouki world, but GDAE is also used. A mandola is bigger than a mandolin but smaller than a bouzouki, and generally tuned CGDA.
You're looking for a tuner on youtube???? That is very very stupid. Why don't you buy a tuner and learn to tune it yourself. GDAD. 1. buy a tuner 2. pick the strings 3. tune the fucking Bouzouki to GDAD. Not rocket science mate. This is a great instructional video.
RU-vid tuners aren't that good honestly. You're much better off buying a Clip on tuner or a Tuner pedal. I have next to no knowledge on this instrument so I couldn't tell you if you can run it through any pedals. Worth experimenting with
