Good evening.
I would like you to recommend a three-course bouzouki teacher in Athens, with a particular interest in and specialisation in taksim, improvisation, and the modal approach to the Greek folk modes.
Thank you
Eugenios Voulgaris does exactly that: understanding modality through improvisation. He does it exceptionally well, and in a truly unique way.
Specifically for the bouzouki, Alexandros Kentris gives lessons and also runs seminars devoted specifically to taximia.
As for modality in the laïkó dromoi, Nikos Andrikos lays the subject on a sound footing in his relevant book.
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Thank you for your reply. I have Voulgari’s and Andrikou’s books and I’m studying them. It’s just that I’ve only been playing the bouzouki and engaging with music in general for two years, so I’m not yet very confident in applying — or understanding — everything I study. I took part in a music group under the guidance of a teacher, but I decided that building up a large repertoire isn’t really what interests me. Instead, I want to devote myself to improvisation on the bouzouki.
At the moment, I’m studying the laïko dromoi and the modal characteristics of each one on my own. That’s why I’m looking for a teacher in Attica whose teaching approach is as little scale-centred as possible, so they can guide me on this journey.
I’ve seen on YouTube that there are some very popular teachers — Zerlentes, Tringas, Tzinellis and Krionas — but I don’t know whether they would suit what I need and what I’m aiming for.
Welcome, by the way!
Since you’re not looking purely for the technical side of the bouzouki, head straight to Voulgaris (even online), and he’ll unlock the taxim and modality for you.
If you like, you can also drop by here and ask anything you want:
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I’m afraid Voulgaris will be too academic for my level.
I found this undergraduate thesis, which is helping me a lot, by the way:
Christos Zotos: From Theory to Practice. Modes, taximia and techniques
And yet Eugenios approaches the subject so naturally and progressively, leading to a deep understanding in a simple way. It’s really good to have this approach from the outset and not get caught up in a scale-centric one that you’ll eventually have to rethink (I speak from experience here).
At the same time, you can take bouzouki technique lessons with a teacher whose playing style and repertoire suit you, provided you have the time and money for both at once.
I think Dimitris Mikellis combines both bouzouki and modal theory. There are certainly others I’m forgetting at this hour—perhaps the rest can name them.
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Zerlentes, Tringas, Tzinellis, Krionas;
Mikelis, from what I can see, is playing the oud now, not the bouzouki. Am I wrong?
Mikelis is not only a fantastic oud player, but is also experienced on the bouzouki.
From the videos, Zerlentes seems to have paid attention to the repertoire, while Trigas has written a good method for the bouzouki. I’ve heard good things about their teaching. But, as you say, it’s a scale-centred approach, as is naturally the case with the other two as well.
Many years ago, I attended makam lessons. They were independent of which instrument each student played, with an emphasis on understanding melodic movement rather than on moria (which, incidentally, after all these years I firmly believe is the right approach).
They unlocked a great many things for me in relation to modality and improvisation, but they didn’t help me with rebetiko taksim. Makam is modal, rebetiko is modal, but a makam-style taksim isn’t rebetiko, and a rebetiko taksim isn’t makam-style. There are deep, fundamental similarities, but a significant difference in the end result.
So, learn more about exactly what Voulgaris is demonstrating. You may gain a treasure from it, but it might not be what you’re looking for.
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That’s why I had chosen to take the lessons on the bouzouki, so that I would stay within the style. Whenever I picked up the guitar, I would unconsciously follow Evgenios’s oud expressively.
A teacher with deep knowledge of the modes of the dromoi is also Spiros Goumas. He can easily guide you, @Seyr, on your journey to learning taximi on the bouzouki.
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Welcome to the forum.Learning to play a taksim is not easy.It is usually the last thing someone learning the instrument will do.It means that you have fully understood the instrument.Learning the dromoi on your own from books is quite difficult.A teacher will guide you and give you some foundations, so you’re doing the right thing by looking for a teacher.Although I’m neither a teacher nor a professional player, my opinion is that, in order to understand the dromoi more easily, it would be best to have quite a large repertoire first.For example, you could learn 6, 8 or 10 songs in each dromos.After that, it becomes easier to understand certain things about the dromoi.
I should add that the dromoi in Greek popular music have not been standardised by any official body, so, for example, one person may tell you that something is a particular dromos, while someone else may call it something different.Professionals, of course, may disagree about the names, but in the end they will have reached an understanding while still disagreeing.To avoid going on too long and discouraging you, since you asked about a teacher, write which areas are convenient for you.As Giorgos wrote, I would also recommend Spyros Goumas, who teaches in Ilioupoli.
Hmm.
Interesting topic.
There are definitely different schools of taksim, and I don’t think many people master the whole spectrum, because it’s difficult. I’d say that, of course, if you can learn as much as possible about makam, it helps, but not everything is played on the bouzouki, and not everything is played correctly. What you can take from makam, though, is the way the notes are handled — essentially, how the modes are meant to be played, with what combinations and phrasing. Papaioannou has something of makam in the way he plays taksim. But I don’t think bouzouki taksim is purely makam-based. And basically, I think taksim is largely about listening and playing. Groove and picking, etc. aren’t easy to teach. A teacher will certainly show you a number of phrases and say a few words to help you get to the heart of it. What you mustn’t neglect, though, is listening to taksim and constantly familiarising your ear with them.
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Thank you very much. As I wrote earlier, from the very beginning of my apprenticeship on the bouzouki, I had a teacher as part of a musical ensemble. From him, I learnt all the λαϊκοί δρόμοι, rhythms and some repertoire. However, both on my own and by listening to various other teachers at seminars and so on, I came to understand that, when it comes to taksim and improvisation, it isn’t enough simply to know the notes of each dromos on the fretboard. Through reading, I discovered for myself, for example, that each dromos has its own degree on which to begin a taksim, its own degrees for the resting points of phrases, its own modulations… Its own tetrachords and pentachords… I don’t want to single out the teacher I’ve been having lessons with up to now, but he never went into this kind of information in depth. Of course, perhaps I wasn’t ready to hear it at the time. However, from what I’ve read here on the forum, most people recommend learning these things as early as possible…
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Good evening, my friend,
I think that, apart from Gkoumas, Theodoros Papadopoulos also plays some really, really interesting taximi.
I don’t know if he gives lessons, but he absolutely smashes it when it comes to taximi!!
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