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
Guqin strings silk and also they were louder and more stable. A set could last many years and not break. The only drawback for traditionalists was that the strings had a harsh metallic sound which was considered inelegant. Another factor was that the strings could eventually wear the lacquer out requiring the qin surface to be repaired more often. Around 2007, a new set of strings were produced made of mostly a nylon core coiled with nylon like the metal-nylon strings, possibly in imitation of Western catgut strings. The sound is similar to the metal-nylon strings but without the metallic tone to