I see bouzoiki s are credited on every country pop album. I remember someone said once that they tune them like guitars.

I have some questions.

1. Do you change to regular guitar strings and tune like a guitar?
2. It has only 4 strings, do you skip the two low strings?
3. The original har double strings, but in Nashville are 4 strings only common?
4. Do you use normal tuning or nashville tuning?

A bouzouki is otherwise known as an Octave Mandolin. Same as a mandolin only an octave lower, 4 courses of two strings each, tuned in fifths.

Almost... An octave mandolin has 4 pairs of strings, each pair being the same. On a bouzouki, the 2 pairs of upper strings are the same, the 2 lower pairs are octaves. A bit different in sound.

Rich

Oh, okay. And people are playing bouzoukis on country records? News to me.

Which country albums Have bouzouki on them?

Always open to learn new stuff...

I would not call it country (because that term, without modifiers, probably means mainstream country music), but Tim O’Brien used to have a lot of bouzouki on his recordings.

Thanks for replies

Yes I mean more pop/country stuff. Like the stuff produced by Dann Huff.


43.34

YouTube


Dann Huff talks about using a bouzouki

Listen to the intro of Taylor swifts song Red, its a bouzouki I guess. It is mentioned in the credits here: Red (Taylor Swift song - Wikipedia)

I have seen bouzouki credited on lots of other records too

3.12

YouTube

seems like this guy only uses 4 strings here

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I was just curious if there was any standard tunings/string setup for using it in this pop/country style of music as opposed to greek traditional use

What’s the secret?

Guess you’d have to move to Nashville to find out! Heh

Don't forget the 5 chorus Celtic Cittern and Irish bouzouki. And some weirdo octave mandos have 5 nylon strings. Maybe just the one.