When I first started playing the bouzouki, at the end of 1990, I was convinced that this strange Greek instrument, which looks like a giant mandolino, must be an ancient object from the Hellenic tradition. I wondered whether it was Athenian or from Sparta: the metal strings have a solid, compact sound, while the instrument can also produce a peculiar timbre rather like a lyre, this is largely the result of the open tunings which I had learnt to play from the biggining.

I was in two minds: did the instrument originate from warlike culture of Sparta or from the proud tradition of Athenian artistry?

I was disappointed to discover that the bouzouki had in fact been created as recently as 1920.

It looks like a “saz”, a traditional Turkish instrument, and is also reminiscent of the “pandouris”, an ancient Greek lute, both of which have three doulble strings. The first bouzouki also had three opened strings (DAD). It was only after the World War Two that Manolis Chiotis, a virtuoso of that instrument, added the fourth string, using the tuning which Greek musicians have been using ever since (DAFC). This is exactly the same as guitar tuning except one tone lower. Because of this tuning, the bouzouki has the sound of a twelve strings guitar. If, therefore, lacks the lower tones and loses the original charm of its ancestors: the saz and the pandouris, but is much more easily played by anyone who can already play the guitar.

When I tuned my instrument in this way, I found it completely unsatisfying, preferring to play the guitar. If you want to get the best sound from a bouzouki, you must play the free strings bouzouky.

Try to tune the instrument as Fabrizio De André did in his songs Creuza de Ma (DADA) or Jamin-a (EBEB) and you will experience the magical power of this sound. In these songs you will find that there are at least 2 double strings ( and often 3 or even 4) which are always left open. If, after trying this, you tune the bouzouki following the Greek style,(DAFC) you will discover you can’t get the same sonority.

In the 1960s the Irish became found of the Greek bouzouki and decided to create a version of their own. They soon started using open tunings( DADA-and more often DADG), and occasionally they tune the instrument using interval of fifths (EADG). The Irish instrument is very different from the Greek one. It has a flat case and as a consequence a different timbre, it is called The “Irish bouzouki” or “cittern” , to remember of the old traditional Irish lute.

If you want to reproduce the sonorities of the album “Creuza de Ma” you will need a Greek instrument, not an Irish one and with open tuning.

If you want to buy a bouzouki, you can easily find one in any good music shop. They come from Greece, but are usually more valuable for they appearance ( their decoration and ornamentation ) than for their timbre.

Musikalia is the only bouzouki maker in Italy which makes several different types.

You could choose the cheapest one (the 902): I have two of them and they are good. Howevwr, the best thing woulb be to find a secondhand Eko bouzouki. These are the ones used by Mauro Pagani on the album “Creuza de Mar”, but they are very hard to come by. Any musician who owns one, doesn’t want to let it go!

Well, by now you shoud know just everything you need to about a bouzouki…All you have to do now is find one and learn how to play it!

Giorgio Cordini

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I’d like to say something about my experience in the world of music – both in small bars with a few dozen people and on large stages where I had the good fortune to play with famous artists.
I’ll talk about guitars and mandolins, but also about an instrument close to my heart – the bouzouki. It’s a bit like a big mandolin with four double strings which in Greece isn’t tuned in fifth, but just like the first four strings of a guitar a key lower – CFAD. But in the “ethnic” world of Mauro Pagani and Fabrizio De André the bouzouki was intended to evoke a Mediterranean and Arabian atmosphere, which is why Mauro usually tuned it ADAD or BEBE or even C#F#C#F#. I learnt to play this instrument in a rather unusual way – when I met Fabrizio De André.
Fabrizio was a very warm person and never forgot a friend. It wasn’t difficult to get close to him – he listened to everyone and made room for everone without prejudice or reservations.
In the winter of 1990 rehersals began for the “Le Nuvole” (The clouds) tour. I had been recruited by Mauro Pagani who was the producer of the album and who I already played with. This was to be my first experiece at this level, and to play with Fabrizio De André, who had always been my favourite singer-songwriter, was a dream come true.
On the first day of rehersals in Milan I arrived with all my stuff – my electric guitar, my acoustic guitar, my classical guitar, my Marshall amp… I met the musicians, some of whom I already knew – Ellade Bandini, the drummer, Naco on percussion, Giancarlo Parisi on wind instruments, Pierre Michelatti on bass, Gilberto Martellieri the pianist, and Michele Ascolese the other guitarist. Only Mauro Pagani wasn’t there – late.
While we were waiting I thought I’d introduce myself to Fabrizio, who I hadn’t met before. I put out my hand: “I’m Giorgio, the guitarist who plays with Mauro. Pleased to meet you”. “Hi” he replied. “Pleased to meet you. Mauro told me you play great bouzouki”.
I was lost for words. How could Mauro do this to me? What had he said? I looked around desperately searching for a bouzouki, but to be honest I did’t even know what a bouzouki looked like. I summoned all my courage and said “Fabrizio, I’ve never played the bouzouki in my life. I can play the guitar, and if you want I can learn it”. Fabrizio was clearly annoyed, obviously not with me, but with Mauro Pagani who hadn’t told him the entire truth.
So for me the rehersals got off on the wrong foot. The first few days were terrible. I felt as if I was constantly being watched, and that each day could be my last. But it didn’t turn out like that. Perhaps Fabrizio had appreciated my honesty, and after a week actually gave me pieces to play with the bouzouki, which I had begun to study.
My relationship with him grew over time. I was always called for subsequent tours, even when Mauro Pagani was no longer with him, and I played guitar and bouzouki in his band until the end. I even had the great pleasure of teaching him to play the bouzouki. He really wanted to play it properly, and not just pretend as others might have done. During rehersals for the “Mi innamoravo di tutto” tour, he asked me over to his home a few times to teach him”Creuza de me” and “Jamina”. He was extremely meticulous and wouldn’t stop until he had learnt something really well. We would repeat some pieces almost ad nauseam until he was sure he had them fixed in his head.
From then on until the end he always played those pieces with the bouzouki in concert, and always with great precision.

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