Bouzouki

The bouzouki (, also US: ; Greek: μπουζούκι [buˈzuki]; plural. bouzoukis or bouzoukia, μπουζούκια) is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body and a long neck with a fretted fingerboard. It has steel strings and is played with a plectrum, producing a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but pitched lower. It is the precursor to the Irish bouzouki, an instrument derived from the Greek bouzouki that is popular in Celtic, English, and North American folk music. Instruments similar to the bouzouki (like buzuq and Balkan tambura) are also common in West Asia (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Cyprus), Balkans and Turkey. The instrument was brought to Greece in the early 1900s by Greek refugees from Anatolia, and quickly became the central instrument to the rebetiko genre and its music branches. It is now an important element of modern Laïko pop Greek music.