Irish bouzouki Irish bouzouki The Irish bouzouki () is an adaptation of the Greek bouzouki (Greek: μπουζούκι). Johnny Moynihan is credited with bringing the first "tetrachordo" (4 courses of strings) Greek bouzouki to Ireland and retuning it to G-D-A-D (in intervals he first used on the mandolin). In the mid-1960s, Moynihan established a presence for the instrument in Irish music with the folk trio Sweeney's Men. Alec Finn, first in the Cana Band and subsequently in De Dannan, introduced the first "trichordo" (3 courses of strings) Greek bouzouki into Irish music. In the early 1970s, Andy Irvine gave his Greek bouzouki to
Irish bouzouki De Dannan, obtained a "trichordo" Greek bouzouki on his own. With a few exceptions, bouzouki players playing Irish music tend to use the instrument less for virtuoso melodic work and more for the chordal or contrapuntal accompaniment of melodies played on other instruments, such as the flute or fiddle. Because of this, it is common to use matched strings on the two bass courses, tuning to unison pairs in order to enhance the bass response of the instrument. Almost immediately after the Greek bouzouki's initial introduction, new designs built specifically for Irish traditional music were developed. The body was widened