Learning to play the Bouzouki

[fede816x]

awesome !! thanks for putting this one up !!!

[Steve92crue]

as a fellow greek, heavy metal lover guitar player, I'm pretty keen to get a bouzouki.

I'm going to greece next month, and I really want to buy one, would you recommend getting the 8 string or the 6 string bouzouki?

[RockNReady]

@Steve92crue - Probably the 8-string. The intervals are the same as the top 4 strings on the guitar so the transition is easier. There are 2 bouzouki makers in Omonia, Kevorkian and Tsakarian. If Kevorkian is open, I would start there. Omonia is not the same as it was a few years ago. Keep your wallet in your front pocket and don't wear jewelery. There's a lot of hypes and pickpockets there these days.

[Steve92crue]

@RockNReady alvanesi haha... thank you very much for your help. My yiayia's house is in omonia, so I guess i'll start there!

[39Thorns]

Dig it........



[Andreas1995ray]

metal bouzouki? haha.. you are more like a fan of metal.. i bet you play electric guitar

[RockNReady]

@Andreas1995ray - Μπράβο! How could you tell? ;-)

I actually drank too much ouzo one night with friends and we plugged it in to a distortion box and a wah-wah pedal. It was NOT pretty. Xaxaxaxaxa!

[RockNReady]

@MatteoBanelli - 550 Euro (with Stagg hardshell case).

[CyprusHot]

i live in england and want to buy a bouzouki from Greece, help please?

[RockNReady]

@CyprusHot

Here's the info for the guy I bought it from. It's in Athens, near Omonia square.

Pavlos Kevorkian Music Corner

AIOLOU 105 (XAYTIA) OMONIA

Tel# 324-1984

[TheCountchocula123]

i...i must have one!!

[BiznatchinPotatoes]

i recently acquired a bouzouki from my relatives in greece but damn i cant play shit on it. is there a site you could send me for tabs? or send me some? nothing too fancy i just dont want to have it sit there all day when im playing guitar. thanks

[RockNReady]

Buy "The Best of Greek Bouzouki" by John G. Demas (you can get it from the Greekshops website).

[bingecafe]

Nice...I see you have my favorite author's shirt on..."I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free." I have the same one bought in Crete along with my 8 string bouzouki. Still learning to play it -- so I'll check out your recommendation. Also curious about the tuning you use, which is different from mine.

[RockNReady]

@bingecafe Thanks. C-F-A-D is the traditional tetrachordo bouzouki tuning. Same chord shapes as the top 4 strings on a guitar.

[djnikyc]

Very well done! How long you been playing for?

[SuperCoffer]

BRAVO και ευχαριστούμε που ακόμα και εκεί τόσο μακρυά απολαμβάνετε αυτό το όργανο.... έχετε τα τερετίσματα μας από Ελλάδα !!!! να σαι καλά !!!

[Xalkfamily]

you need greek listens to play not only metal,rock neoclassical stuff

friendly john

[pamak91]

well done!!!Greetings from Greece!!!

[RockNReady]

This is an 8-String or "Tetrachordo" which has 4 pairs. A Trichordo has 6 strings (3 pairs) and is more traditional (for music like Rebetika).

[nickpafras]

way to go bro, you play great...

[desp01naki]

Nice Job you there! Yasoo ki esena karntasi!

[themisdis]

//bravo file..very good...Thanks for the comments

[tasssos11]

great job rocknready hope to see u live one day old friend from ventura

[johnnyaught]

Very nice, beautiful sound!

[bubbleman441]

NICE! Yeah I picked one up in Athens two years ago and I wish I could play that well! I'm desperately trying to learn any way possible. Any recommendations? Also how do you have you're bouzouki tuned in this video?

[iMiloroxurworld]

they might have lessons at ur local greek church. that's what im looking for

[RockNReady]

Try checking out "The Best of Greek Bouzouki" by John G. Demas (you can get it from the Greekshops website). The tuning is C - F - A - D

[mdorfer]

that's really great, where did you learn that? It's a big problem to find a bouzouki teacher in austria, so do you have any websites you can recomment? Or do you have a tab of that one? Anyway, great music!

[RockNReady]

Try checking out "The Best of Greek Bouzouki" by John G. Demas (you can get it from Greekshops website). I don't have a tab of this one. It is a traditional hasapservico.

[woodquarterman]

@mdorfer Hi! The best teacher you can find by "Marios and Julie" from Vienna. Marios is an Artist on Bouzouki. Greetings and good luck.

[woodquarterman]

@mdorfer

[DimitrisPrasakis]

cool!!bouzouki rocks!!!i play too!!!

[kingko00oo7]

wow man your awsome reallyyy

[GreekEaglePower]

wow respect very good : )

Bouzouki 4 ever :P

[NICKFROMESSEX]

yasou !

Great Video . Are you learning from a book Because in England it is hard to find a teacher . If so which book are you using to learn from? Best Wishes

Nick

[RockNReady]

I took a lesson from Lou Skoby (Hellenic Sounds) and videotaped the content afterwards to make my own lesson DVD. But check out the website Greekshops for a book by John G Demas. That's one I'm using now.

[sodiribouzoukilegend]

this was good actually. i noticed your fingers though. they look abit wierd. well i gues i shoudn't make fun cos everybody is different and we all got different tallents. i tell you what though, one part of that song is from sousta and you can play it better then me. lol. nicly done my friend

[RockNReady]

That's funny. Now that I look at it, they do look kind of torqued! It's just the angle of the camera I think. The earliest recorded form of this riff is most likely from the old rebetika song "Mikros arravoniastika" by Vamvakaris. There have been many adaptations of the riff ever since.

[BrutalEpicMetal]

Can this kind of music be played on a bass? I know it will be very low if it can but I think that will sound interesting.

[RockNReady]

Do a search on the song "Mikros arravoniastika", look for a version by a band called Mydros. There's a bass line that will give you the root notes where to take the scale position wise.

[BrutalEpicMetal]

Okay thanks I will, I'll write down Ideas that I have, keep up the good instrument playing.

[RockNReady]

The strings are tuned C-F-A-G. If you take off the E & A strings on your guitar, then detune the D-G-B-E it is the exact same chord shape and interval as on the guitar. That should help.

[jeromekayla1]

I think believe the bouzouki is tuned CFAD not CFAG

[RockNReady]

OOPS! You Are Correct.  I must have had too much ouzo when I typed that.

[johnnyschenker]

U think or u believe...u dont think believe...

[jeromekayla1]

lol my bad. i guess i had too much ouzo too.

[johnnyschenker]

XD LOL dude...then its ok...ouzo forgives anything...

[tgreek2320]

i dont have a bouzouki...yet...i got a spanish guitar and im trying to figure this song out...is their any way the Hitzaz scale can translate onto a 6-string guitar?

[parastass]

top1

i grow in a family of bouzoukiers :p

and i can depart a good from a bad player (i think)

you own m8....

[tgreek2320]

is this a certain type of scale???

[RockNReady]

It is based in the very common Hitzaz scale (key of F). My favorite version of this was played by a guy named Adonis Russos in the M*A*S*H* TV episode called "Private Charles Lamb" where the Greek army celebrates Easter at the 4077th.

[bouzoukiwonderlol]

wat song is this? ur awesome man i wish i could play like you

[RockNReady]

It's a pretty standard public domain Hasaposerviko piece. I equate it to the Greek version of 12-Bar blues. I've heard it played in many different ways. It's meant to be played at about twice the speed as in my video. I'm getting close. Thanks for the encouragement.

[HayleyT393]

Awesome Job! Keep up the good work.

[JMANFREE]

Wow, that is pretty good! I have a bouzouki tune on youtube too, but it is with guitar. Sounds great!

[melanierachele]

Very Good for a Grexican! haha.

Rock on Yanni. Aristedes

[1slowgrk]

WTF!!!

Slash can play Bouzouki..Shocking

Oh by the way, what is up with the FEZ!!

You look like the son of a turkish mother for God sake.

All kidding aside, your the best malaka!!

[eirhnopoios]

Σιγά ρε φίλε, μην μας δείρεις κιόλας! Δηλαδή πρέπει να 'χει κάποιος μουστακάκι και καπελάκι για να παίζει μπουζούκι;

[tsarka1888]

...wearing a 'foustanela kai tsarouxia'...wouldn't have hurt though..now THAT would have rocked !!!