Interesting topic, which we’ve discussed before.
Here’s a short but juicy thread:
And here’s an interesting recent one:
I should add that, for the bouzouki to sit correctly, the picking hand must hold the body completely steady, so that no weight at all rests on the neck and makes things difficult for the fretting hand. This isn’t easy with all bouzoukis (and is almost impossible with tzourades). It does help, however, if the edge of the body (the soundboard binding) catches on the player’s thigh.
For this to happen, the instrument needs to be vertical, so that we cannot see the soundboard — or the fingerboard, as I mentioned in my earlier post — and the leg must also be raised slightly. That’s why we either cross our legs or rest the leg on the chair or on a footstool.
Holding the instrument vertically also helps with the picking, because the plectrum falls naturally with gravity, without the hand tensing up.