2 tips

[dynamismusic]

Guys,
Let me share a couple of things I do while playing.
1. There is a lot of discussion about where to place your forearm on the bouzouki. Some are advocating putting your arm on the string guard. I would advise against that. People who try and attempt this often complain that it is uncomfortable and a little painful; then, they reason that they have to get used to it.
There is no truth to no pain, no gain in this case. Your body sends pain signs when you are NOT injured as a warning that what you are doing is against the will of your muscles and tendons. Stop trying to make your arm do what it's telling you it should not do. That position causes strain and fatigue-both not good for playing bouzouki. Take your arm and place it slightly above the guard and keep your wrist loose and comfortable just below the sound hole. Try it, you'll like it.

For playing live on stage: No matter what equipment you have in your live rig, getting a good sound is difficult. Frequencies are all over the place and often times it's the mid range frequencies that cause ear fatigue. Here is what I do for ALL my live gigs: EARPLUGS!!! They effectively cut out all the bad frequencies and allow you to hear the zouk cut through the mix---just watch your volume. I recommend the soft foam earplugs--don't leave home for a gig without them. Enjoy.
Danny

[ousak]

ear plugs?? hmmm.. Never tried them...

Wont i look stupid wearing them?

[dynamismusic]

ousak said:

ear plugs?? hmmm.. Never tried them...

Wont i look stupid wearing them?

Not at all. You can't see them from beyond the stage. Plus, I buy the foam earplugs that are a flesh tone beige color. Try it, you'll save your ears and your sanity!
Danny

[thanosm]

Ouu flesh tone beige color ... sounds groovy ! I am definately going to try it...I think this might work for the place I am playing at ...where one of the problems is having too much of everyone else's sound around me ....

As far placing your arm on the string guard.... I disagree as well. This may work for those of us with a smaller build... but if you are 6'2" (1 91 cm) as I am with long arms that almost come down to my knees(great for swinging on trees) when they are fully extended(no my father was not chimpanzee) bending your arm in order to get it over the string guard just doesn't produce a pleasant feeling...

Danny keep the tips coming....
And let's not be shy about asking either. I can see how a professional player may be aprehensive about asking ...as i did about the way the picking hand should feel .... but I asked and received a good answer as well as the knowledge that there were others that experienced my problem. Of course if you feel uncomfortable about asking something that you think may make you seem lame to others...then just ask Danny via e-mail...like I do. He gives great advice to really complicated questions....
Please forgive the spelling errors. When you are away from the states for so long ...it starts to slip...

[photos]

I tried playing last night for a little while by placing my arm on the string guard. I found that it did improve the tone of the bouzouki, but that it prevented me from playing effortlessly.

I didn't feel any pain but at the same time I could not play fast things, or complicated patterns. I felt limited.

When Nikos Tatasopoulos was at my home a couple of years ago, I noticed that he did place his arm on the string guard. At the same time as Thanos mentioned maybe this is determined by body build and size.

I feel most comfortable placing my arm slightly above the string guard.

Photos.

Let's make this forum explode!

[petro]

tha majority of bouzouksides place their hand right above...so if Nick T advises to put on the string guard i think he's in the minority...it may work for him..but it is no means in my opinion the classic wy most players hold their isntrument....if ur getting better tone by doing this..then perhaps its because the pick is hitting flatter on the strings..instead of slicing them at an angle...see if there's anything u can adjust with the normal way ur playing to get a better tone...one thing that helped was changing the angle of the bouzouki...the neck a little up..not like a classical guitar player...and the face slightly angled up....once again only slightly...and finally the neck a little forward...i found that this helps a lot to get an amazing sound..because i can hit the strings hard and really cut into them...and at the same time the angles let my wrist move in a very comfortable motion...and finally...my hand in this way never touches the kapaki...because its almost suspended over it...

danny any thoughts....does all this business about angling the bouzuoki the right way make nay sense or hold water....because its really working out well so far

anyway..i learned to do this by mimicing hristo psarro a little bit..not that that means its correct

[dynamismusic]

petro said:

tha majority of bouzouksides place their hand right above...so if Nick T advises to put on the string guard i think he's in the minority...it may work for him..but it is no means in my opinion the classic wy most players hold their isntrument....if ur getting better tone by doing this..then perhaps its because the pick is hitting flatter on the strings..instead of slicing them at an angle...see if there's anything u can adjust with the normal way ur playing to get a better tone...one thing that helped was changing the angle of the bouzouki...the neck a little up..not like a classical guitar player...and the face slightly angled up....once again only slightly...and finally the neck a little forward...i found that this helps a lot to get an amazing sound..because i can hit the strings hard and really cut into them...and at the same time the angles let my wrist move in a very comfortable motion...and finally...my hand in this way never touches the kapaki...because its almost suspended over it...

danny any thoughts....does all this business about angling the bouzuoki the right way make nay sense or hold water....because its really working out well so far

anyway..i learned to do this by mimicing hristo psarro a little bit..not that that means its correct

The way I hold the bouzouki is similar to that of a classical guitar player where I'm looking more at the dots than the fingerboard. This also creates the flatter picking stroke that is desired for a bigger sound.
Danny

[photos]

Of course this implies that you have no need to look at the fretboard while you are playing.

That is a different topic altogether. Most times I need to be seeing what I am doing. Does "not seeing" need a lot of work to develop?

[petro]

danny..by classical guitar player i meant the extremely elevated neck angle...

how difficult id it to break the habit of looking at the fretboard..where do u start

[dynamismusic]

I'm a little extreme in the sense that I use the dots only for sight. You can angle the bouzouki a little in order to see the fret board, but not so that you see it flush. To attain the ability to play looking at the dots requires practicing in scales while looking at the dots. This will familiarize yourself more quickly. The neck is not elevated. Rather, your fingering hand is cupped with a little gap between the palm and the neck--that's what I mean by classical style guitar playing.
Danny

[petro]

that makes a lot of sense....but how do u get to the point where ur not looking at all..as i have seen many players like nikolopoulo do..is this part of the mangia as a bouzouki player? to come off very cool and relaxed while ripping hiotis

[Panagiotis]

Start by taking small phrases and memorizing them...then, practice them over and over until you feel confident enough to not look at the fretboard. Another thing you can do is run scales in this manner. Everyone has to look once in a while but it becomes very natural to generally not stare at the fretboard.

P

[dynamismusic]

admin said:

Start by taking small phrases and memorizing them...then, practice them over and over until you feel confident enough to not look at the fretboard. Another thing you can do is run scales in this manner. Everyone has to look once in a while but it becomes very natural to generally not stare at the fretboard.

P

This is difficult to explain (without sounding arrogant). After a hours and years of practice, I've developed a sense of oneness with the instrument. When I'm playing without looking at the instrument, I'm not trying to show off; rather, believe this or not, I play better the less I look--even better when I close my eyes. At that point I see the bouzouki in my minds eye better than if I was actually looing at it. I'm also more into the music becuase I'm focused internaly rather than taking up brain activity to register what my eyes are looking at. Hopefully, you'll all see that I'm not trying to be arrogant; Maybe weird is the more acceptable term.
Danny

[photos]

It's not at all arrogant Danny.

It's like blind people, who have sharpened hearing, and sharpened touch, because they are missing one sense, all the other senses are especially sensitive.

It makes sense that if you close your eyes you'll get less confused. When you close your eyes, the audio clues become more important to guide you better.

Today, at practice, I tried playing without looking at the fretboard. I'm OK if I am confident with the particular scale. But a more difficult scale will necessitate looking at least a little bit. So what Pete said about learning your scales without looking has merit.

Photos.

[Panagiotis]

Another thing you can do is to blindfold yourself or use some of those "sleepytime blinders" and practice playing a song that you know very well that way. As you repeat the song over and over, you develop the technique of playing without looking.

P