|
This page for
me
is a way to share my interest in Irish traditional music
with whoever wants to hear about it. I have chosen to dedicate a page to
the Irish bouzouki because there seems to be very little information
available, even though most people recognize the fact that the instrument has
earned it's place in the tradition. And of course because it's the instrument
I use (most of the time) when I play in an Irish trad. session.
|
Latest changes (Aug 19, 1999):
- Put up a page with pictures shot by Dirk
Mahling at the recent concert of Donal Lunny's band Coolfin in Summerville, MA.
- Created a homepage for Peter Abnett,
probably the first maker of the Irish bouzouki as we know it now.
- Since Glasgow-based luthier Jimmy Moon
doesn't have his own homepage set up yet, I've set up a page for him from the
brochure and photo material I received from one of his satisfied customers.
- Due to it's ever-increasing size, I have now split up the
makers list in 4 sections,
Europe,
USA,
Canada,
Australia & New-Zealand. The
shops also have a section for
themselves.
- Since Andy Tobin
now has his own homepage, all the links to my local copy have been rewired to
his site.
- Also installed a first version of an A,DAe chord chart. And made the chart for DAEA (Irish mandola tuning ?) (that I generated from the G,DAd chords) available for the rest of the world.
|
|
|
|
What this page has to offer:
| Stringing your bouzouki |
First there is an piece of text I wrote on the subject of
tuning and stringing
the bouzouki for use in an Irish trad. music setting.
|
|---|
| Bouzouki Chords |
There are chord charts provided for the 2 commonly used Irish bouzouki tunings,
G,DAd and A,DAd. These can be found, along with some other useful info,
in their respective sub-pages. [Note: preliminary versions for
G,DAe,
DAea and
A,DAe are now also available.]
|
|---|
| Right hand techniques. |
This is a preliminary version of a text on right hand techniques that might be
useful for bouzouki (and guitar, mandolin, cittern) players that want to play
Irish music. It's mostly about backup right now, but the melody playing section
will soon be extended with some illustrations too, and maybe even a few example
tunes.
|
|---|
| History |
For those interested in history there are two little snippets from interviews
that music journalist Paul Magnussen had with
Andy Irvine
and
Alec Finn .
These fragments capture the two stories I've heard about how the bouzouki came
to be used in Irish music. Timewise, these two stories seem to have happened
at about the same time, so I 've chosen to include them both here.
|
|---|
| Makers List |
Now where are you going to find one, once you decide you want to play the
bouzouki ? Here 's a list of makers
and other useful addresses that might help you find a good one.
|
|---|
| Recommended Listening Material |
From my own learning and listening experiences, and recommendations of others,
I have compiled a page with a lot of suggestions of what I think is good
listening material for
(wanna-be) bouzouki players. Check it out, and tell me what YOU like.
|
|---|
| Books |
Here is a short list of books
that might be useful for those interested in the bouzouki.
|
|---|
| Picture Gallery |
If you want to have a look at the instruments I currently own (and a few I
have owned - my living room has only a finite size), here are some
color pictures,
and short descriptions of the bouzoukis that are shown.
|
|---|
| Sound Samples |
There are some sound samples,
so that you now can hear what the various bouzoukis sound like.
Soon there will be more, and some of these samples will soon serve a double
function, when the guide to right hand techniques for the bouzouki/guitar
player that I am currently working on is published here.
|
|---|
| The "Cittern" Mailing List |
For those of you who want to know more about these instruments, or just want
to discuss their experiences and opinions on the subject, there is now also a
CITTERN mailing list.
You can also use Dan Beimborn's
cittern admin
form if you have WWW access. Or for a more general discussion of Irish
trad. music, join the
IRTRAD-L mailing list.
|
|---|
| Build your own ? |
Every now and then I get requests from people who want to build their own
instrument, asking for plans. I don't have any, but the Guild of American Luthiers (GAL) has one, and it's available through
their homepage.
There is also a set of plans available from Dave Annear's homepage, which match
the instrument displayed there.
The Musical Instrument Makers Forum , which
is a WWW-based discussion list, has also 2 plans for cittern-family instruments,
one with a traditional bracing pattern and one with a more modern bracing
pattern. They also have lots of other information that might be useful for
anyone with an interest in luthery.
And finally, you could also join the CITTERN mailing
list, where we have also quite a few instrument makers joining in the discussions.
|
|---|
| Related Instruments (mandolin, tenor banjo, etc.) |
I've collected some useful links to instruments that have a lot in common with
the "cittern" instrument family, either through playing style or construction.
Here is a list of links to tenor banjo
sites, and some to useful mandolin
sites. Suggestions to other useful site are of course welcomed.
|
|---|
| Future Plans |
Planned future additions include info on various playing styles. And of course,
the guide to proper right hand technique is only partly complete. But I'm
working on that. May take some time though - playing the thing is a LOT easier
than writing about it.
|
|---|
| Your Contributions ? |
Of course, any contribution of relevant material on the subject of bouzoukis
and Irish music will be appreciated. Also any remarks/corrections on the
material already present are most welcome. You can
mail me
your suggestions at the address below.
|
|---|