New Album out: Bríd Harper/Libby McCrohan/Sylvain Barou - "The Fog is Lifting"

 

This album has just been released. Keep an eye on it! You can listen to two tracks on bandcamp.

Eamon Coughlan - A Matter of Course - Tunebook for Bouzouki

 Eamon recently release his tunebook with 26 original tunes he wrote in 2024 for his fortnightly tune project. 

Here's a link to a short video on youtube where he announces his book. Unfortunately I can't embed the video here.

You can order the book here.

Graham McDonald - How to build an Irish Bouzouki - Online Course and Plans

Many years ago Graham McDonald released a book how to build bouzoukis. He is a luthier and builds bouzoukis for about 40 years now. So he knows what he does. You can buy his book on Amazon or as Ebook from McDonald Strings.

The first chapter can be downloaded as a .pdf here and  Andy Irvine's Forward can be downloaded here .

The full size plans can be downloaded separately here. 

Now he released an online course on this topic. On YouTube you can watch the introductional video which I enclose here. So if you ever wanted to build your own bouzouki this one's for you.

Buy me a coffee or a pint

Several people have asked me how they can support my work and my blog. Well, now it's very easy: you can buy me a pint or a coffee. Just click on the beer on the right and you will be redirected to the ‘Buy me a coffee’ website. There you can enter the amount you wish to donate. 

Alternatively, you can scan this QR code.

Many thanks in advance to everyone who would like to support me with a small donation.

Guitar to Bouzouki conversion

It seems that many people are interested in converting a guitar into a bouzouki. This does not appear to be particularly difficult. To get around the problem of string suspension with the pins, you can, for example, attach a new tailpiece. Of course, two additional holes have to be drilled in the head of the guitar. You can either simply drill two holes at the top of the headstock. Or you can go to the trouble of filling in the six existing holes and drilling eight new ones, which certainly looks much better.

Then the bridge insert and saddle need to be converted to 8 strings. Particular care should be taken when working on the saddle.

In any case, it should be noted that the fingerboard is very wide compared to a bouzouki, which will certainly not appeal to everyone. Personally, I would find it too wide. I am also not a fan of the sound of the gizouki, or whatever you want to call it. But that is all a matter of taste.

Here's a website where a guy called Keith Hempsey shows his conversion of two guitars. 

Brent Matusik - Comparism Bouzouki vs. Octave Mandolin

Brent Matusik tries to compare both instruments. This is a discussion which is often heard. And what is the difference between Octave Mandolin and Short Scale Bouzouki? Well ...

Look at the video and maybe afterwards you might be a little bit more confused? 
In my opinion it is all about the tuning you use. Call it whatever you want.

Most watched posts on my blog during the past 12 months

These are the most watched posts on my blog during the past 12 months. Interesting that most people are looking for chords or information on building a bouzouki.

Please tell me, what are you looking for, what information do you need for your playing the bouzouki. Any questions, any hints what you would like me to post here?

And do you know of any hidden treasures on the web which I haven't covered here? Please let me know and I will try to post it. If you have anything to contribute to this blog please feel free to get in contact.

Three fine Bouzoukis for sale in Germany

Currently there are 3 handmade bouzoukis for sale on the German market. I don't know the luthiers who built them. If you know anything about them please comment.

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/.../irish.../2682134343-74-3223

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/.../iris.../2654143222-74-12653

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/.../irish.../2646951293-74-3260

Most viewed posts in January 2024

This is a list of the most viewed posts in Jan 24. If you have missed one... It seems that most visitors just look for the latest posts and don't click on the links on the right. Might be a mistake (?) There are lots of things to discover if you have the time to browse through the older ones.

New course on OAIM - Bouzouki Skills

There's a new course on OAIM: Bouzouki Skills. Tutor Alan Reid teaches a lot of right hand techniqes. Yesterday I subscibed again and in the next weeks I'm going to watch the movies. Seems to be very interesting. 

So if you are looking for some new input have a look at the free video introduction and subscribe to watch the course in total. You'll also have access to all the other courses as well, so come on, why don't you do it?

oaim.ie

By the way, Alan also is on patreon, where he posts lots of instruction videos for bouzouki. 

https://www.patreon.com/alanreid/posts

Here are the details of this course:

Last month most watched post

These are the most watched post in the last month. Have a look an be inspired. Maybe look at the keywords on the right side to find more interesting posts. And keep commenting!

Comparism of a Fylde and a Sobell Bouzouki

 Someone named Cruel Folk compares a Fylde and a Sobell bouzouki. Can't tell what my favourite is. I only once played on a Sobell. I'd really like a comparism of these two with my Foley. Or better not, cause I love my Foley.

10 most often watched posts last 30 days

 So these are the 10 most often watched posts during the last 30 days for your information.

Still lots of readers are looking for chord or chord charts. So if you look here you'll find lots of chord charts or videos where chords are explained. 

https://irish-bouzouki.blogspot.com/search/label/Chord%20Charts

you might look also here:

https://irish-bouzouki.blogspot.com/search/label/Chords

More than 500.000 views!

Wow, now my blog made it to more that half a million views. That's quite a lot, considering that the Irish bouzouki is only known to a small part of the population.
Despite the joy of it, I find it a pity that so little interactivity happens. I honestly wish there was more commentary. It would also be nice if you readers gave tips for contributions.

Maybe one or the other could also enrich the blog with their own videos or tips. How about making a short video explaining a topic and uploading it to youtube? This could be tips on accompanying individual tunes, tips on accompanying polkas, slip jigs etc. or also possibilities of accompanying in different keys or modes (Dmix, Am etc.).

Think about it. I could also imagine appointing someone else as admin to create more content together. If you want to do this, just contact me.

I wish you much joy with your Bouzoukis. Have fun learning and commenting, commenting, commenting. Oh yes, and write me emails ;-)

Most watched blog entries during the last 12 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this are the most watched posts on my blog during the last 12 months. Interesting that most people are looking for chords or information on building a bouzouki.

Please tell me, what are you looking for, what information do you need for your playing the bouzouki. Any questions, any hints what you would like me to post here?

Do you know of any hidden treasures on the web which I haven't covered here? Please let me know and I will try to post it.

What is the Irish Bouzouki - An intro by Eamon Coughlan

Just found this video on youtube. Eamon Coughlan gives an insight to the Irish Bouzouki. 

You find him on bandcamp: https://eamoncoughlan.bandcamp.com/

 

In this video he covers the following topics:

00:00 - Intro 
00:31 - Background / Origin of the instrument
04:57 - Tunings and Versatility
09:55 - Irish Bouzouki vs Octave Mandolin vs Cittern
13:00 - Instrument Range
14:06 - My Bouzouki (Where I got it, Cost)
15:05 - Demos (Background Information on Tunes)
15:56 - Demo I - Irish (Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór)
18:26 - Demo II - Swedish (Byggnan)

 

Eoin O'Neill - Bouzouki Online Workshop

 Well, I'm a bit late with this information, but better late than never ...

Eoin O'Neill offers an online workshop for Bouzouki at the O'Flaherty's Retreat 2020. It runs from Out. 18th until Nov 8th, so it is already online. It cost 150$ and you'll get 9 Lessons each lasts around 25 - 30 minutes You can register here:

https://oflahertyretreat.org

The online workshops are available until December, so enough time to learn from/with Eoin. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to learn the way Eoin plays. This might be the only good thing about Corona.

Ceird an Cheoil - Bouzouki, TG 4

This fantastic RTE-Programme about the bouzouki is not available on youtube anymore as far I know. But I just found it on Dailymotion. Here's a lot of information on this lovely instrument. I mentioned this programme before, but it's always worth to look at it again.

Updates

Over the last few days I updated or deleted several sites on the blog which were outdated. Since I started the blog more than 10 years ago there are lots of videos which are not available anymore on youtube. It takes a lot of time to look at all the old posts. I found out that youtube changed links to videos, so all the older movies are not available anymore. I looked up some of the old videos, but this is hard work. So I decided to delete a lot of old videos.

If you come across dead links on the blog please report them to me or leave a comment. It's a lot of work to review all the pages on this blog so I would appreciate your help.

Also if you come across any good information regarding the Irish Bouzouki feel free to inform me and I will put them on the blog.

Many thanks in advance!

Irish Bouzouki Forum on Facebook

A bit late but...
There is a Forum for the Irish Bouzouki on Facebook. It's not open to everyone so you have to subscribe. You can find it here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1689228111104135/?hc_ref=ARRwpIzcCic1u0_QmV_Y2juc5-4CDndd1kQZy_x56LboxKEF0xYjhphtOJvZHtEWF38

Many well known bouzouki players are on this forum and nearly every aspect of playing the zouk is dealt with. Feel free to ask any questions. Lots to learn.