Irish Bouzouki — Lutherie Encyclopedia

Irish BouzoukiType: instrumentA flat-backed, long-necked stringed instrument adapted from the Greek bouzouki and integral to modern Irish and Celtic music.## History The Irish bouzouki was introduced to Irish traditional music in the late 1960s by Johnny Moynihan of the folk group Sweeney's Men, who brought a Greek bouzouki to Ireland and began using it for accompaniment. Dónal Lunny of Planxty further developed the instrument's role, working with luthier Peter Abnett to create a flat-backed version better suited to Irish music. Andy Irvine also adopted the instrument early on. The flat-backed design distinguished the Irish bouzouki from its Greek ancestor and made it acoustically more like a large mandolin than a traditional bouzouki. By the 1980s, the Irish bouzouki had become a standard accompaniment instrument in Irish and Celtic music sessions worldwide. ## Construction The Irish bouzouki typically features a flat back (unlike the Greek bouzouki's bowl back), a spruce or cedar top, and a long scale length of 22 to 24 inches. The body resembles a large, flat mandolin or small guitar, usually 13 to 16 inches wide at the lower bout. Eight strings in four courses are standard, though some instruments have three courses. The top is braced with X-bracing or fan bracing adapted from guitar construction. Necks are bolt-on or dovetail-jointed, with a radiused fingerboard of rosewood or ebony. The flat-backed design is easier to build than a bowl back, more comfortable to hold, and produces a different tonal character suited to Celtic music's harmonic requirements. ## Tonal Characteristics The Irish bouzouki produces a warm, ringin…