The Irish bouzouki (Irish: búsúcaí) is a version of the Greek bouzouki (Greek: μπουζούκι). In the mid-1960s, Johnny Moynihan of the folk group Sweeney's Men introduced the newer Greek tetrachordo bouzouki, which has four courses of strings. He changed its traditional Greek tuning from C³F³A³D⁴ to G²D³A³D⁴, a tuning he had first used on the mandolin. Earlier, Alec Finn, who played in the Cana Band and later in De Dannan, brought the first Greek trichordo bouzouki (with three courses of strings) into Irish music.
In the early 1970s, Andy Irvine, who had previously played with Johnny Moynihan in Sweeney's Men, gave a Greek tetrachordo bouzouki to Dónal Lunny. Lunny replaced the octave strings on the two lower G and D courses with unison strings, which made the lower notes stronger. Later, during a visit to the workshop of instrument maker Peter Abnett, Lunny asked him to build a four-course bouzouki with a three-piece, partially staved back. This was the first bouzouki specifically designed for Irish music. Since then, many instrument makers have adapted the bouzouki for use in Irish traditional and other folk music styles.
Present role in Irish music
In Irish music, most musicians who play the bouzouki use it mainly to support other instruments by playing chords or interwoven background parts, rather than performing showy or complex melodies. Other instruments, like the flute or fiddle, typically play the main melodies. However, some musicians have developed new ways to use the bouzouki for melodic performances. These include players such as Pat Kilbride, Brian McNeill, Jamie McMenemy, Gerald Trimble, Roger Landes, Ross McNerney, and others.
Development
The original Greek bouzouki is a three-course, six-string instrument (called a trichordo) tuned to D3–A3–D4, with an octave pair on the lowest course. In the 1950s, a four-course, eight-string version (called a tetrachordo) was created in Greece, tuned to C3–F3–A3–D4, with octave pairs on the C and F courses. This version became popular through the musician Manolis Hiotis. The modern tetrachordo bouzouki was noticed by Irish musicians, who adapted it for use in Irish folk music. From there, the instrument spread to other folk music styles.
Johnny Moynihan is credited with bringing the first tetrachordo Greek bouzouki to Ireland. He retuned it to G2–D3–A3–D4, using intervals he had previously used on the mandolin. However, Leagues O'Toole said Moynihan bought his first bouzouki from a friend, Tony Ffrench, who had brought it back from Greece. Moynihan decided he could not or did not want to play it.
In the mid-1960s, Moynihan helped introduce the bouzouki to Irish music through the popular folk group Sweeney's Men. During the recording of their 1968 album, Andy Irvine played Moynihan’s bouzouki on the track "Johnston."
After returning from Eastern Europe in late 1969, Irvine met Dónal Lunny, who had been playing guitar. Irvine gave Lunny a Greek bouzouki he had brought back from his travels. Because Lunny was left-handed, he reversed the strings and replaced the octave strings on the two lowest courses with unison strings. This change significantly altered the instrument’s sound.
About a year later, Lunny and Irvine visited Peter Abnett’s workshop and asked him to build a partially staved-back bouzouki with similar features. This was the first Irish bouzouki made specifically for Irish music. The modified instrument became widely used when Irvine and Lunny popularized it with the group Planxty in 1972.
Irvine later credited Moynihan with introducing the bouzouki to Ireland in a song called "O'Donoghue's," which describes his early experiences with the folk revival in Dublin in the 1960s.
Soon after the Greek bouzouki was introduced to Ireland, new designs were created specifically for Irish traditional music. Peter Abnett, who built the first uniquely "Irish" bouzouki for Dónal Lunny in 1972, designed a hybrid instrument with a 3-piece, partially staved back, and straight sides. Over time, other builders used a flat back with straight sides, which is now the most common design.
The scale length of the Irish bouzouki usually ranges from 24 to 25 inches (60 to 65 cm). Some instruments have scales as long as 26 or 27 inches (66 to 68 cm).
The Irish bouzouki has also been adopted in other Western European musical traditions over the past 40 years. It is now used in the music of England, Scotland, Canada, the United States, Asturias, Galicia, Brittany, and Scandinavian countries.
Musicians like Ale Möller from Sweden, Jamie McMenemy of the Breton group Kornog, Elias Garcia of the Asturian groups Tuenda and Llan de Cubel, and Ruben Bada of the Asturian group DRD have created instrumental arrangements that mix melody and chordal accompaniment. Some musicians also blend Balkan music into their work, using the bouzouki to play styles typically associated with Bulgarian or Macedonian instruments in their native regions.
Tuning
The most common tuning for the Irish bouzouki is G2–D3–A3–D4. This tuning was introduced by Johnny Moynihan, likely to copy the open, droning sound of the Appalachian "clawhammer" banjo. He first used it on the mandolin and later applied it to a Greek bouzouki. Later, Andy Irvine and Dónal Lunny adopted this tuning, and it quickly became nearly the standard tuning for the instrument.
Other tunings, though used by fewer players, include the "octave mandolin" tuning G2–D3–A3–E4 and the "Open D" tuning A2–D3–A3–D4. The "Open G" tuning G2–D3–G3–D4 is also used by some players and works well for "bottleneck" slide playing.
The G2–D3–A3–D4 tuning is closer to the D3–A3–D4 tuning of the Greek trichordo bouzouki than the guitar-like tuning C3–F3–A3–D4 used on the modern Greek tetrachordo bouzouki. This tuning is especially well-suited for the modal harmonic approach to accompaniment common in Irish traditional music. Alec Finn, who played a Greek trichordo bouzouki, used the traditional D3–A3–D4 tuning, adjusting the lower D3 strings to play the same note together.
Name and categorization
For many builders and musicians, the terms "bouzouki," "cittern," and "octave mandolin" are often used interchangeably, even though they are not exactly the same.
The octave mandolin typically has a shorter scale length than the Irish bouzouki, usually around 20 to 23 inches (50 to 59 cm). The Irish bouzouki most commonly has a scale length of 24 to 25 inches (60 to 65 cm), with some instruments having longer scales up to 26 or 27 inches (66 to 68 cm).
Instrument makers who build octave mandolins often use tuning machines similar to those on mandolins and copy the design features of American-style mandolins with carved tops and backs. Some makers refer to their instruments that look like bouzoukis as "octave mandolins" or "mandocellos," even though these instruments are designed for the tuning G2–D3–A3–D4.
Many instrument makers and musicians consider the Irish bouzouki to be part of the mandolin family, while others view it as a separate group of instruments. In the study of musical instruments, both mandolin-like and lute-like instruments are part of a larger family of plucked string instruments that includes all types of bouzouki. Since the Irish bouzouki was developed in the late 1960s, many instrument makers have used elements of mandolin construction, especially in making archtop Irish bouzoukis. For some, the debate over how to classify these instruments is no longer important.
Instrument maker Stefan Sobell used the term "cittern" to describe his modern, mandolin-based instruments. He originally used "cittern" for short-scale instruments, regardless of the number of strings. Now, he uses "cittern" for all five-course instruments, no matter their scale length, and "octave mandolin" for all four-course instruments, avoiding the term "bouzouki" entirely.
The term "cittern" is often, but not always, used for five-course instruments, especially those with a scale length of 20 to 22 inches (50 to 55 cm). Five-course instruments with longer scales are sometimes called "10-string bouzoukis." The fifth course is typically either the lowest bass string tuned to C2 or D2 (long scale) or the highest treble string tuned to G4 or A4 (short scale).