Baglamas

For the instrument used in Turkish music, see Bağlama.

A baglamas

The baglamas (Greek: μπαγλαμάς) or baglamadaki (μπαγλαμαδάκι), a long necked bowl-lute, is a plucked string instrument used in Greek music; it is a version of the bouzouki pitched an octave higher (nominally D-A-D), with unison pairs on the four highest strings and an octave pair on the lower D. Musically, the baglamas is most often found supporting the bouzouki in the Piraeus city style of rebetiko.

The body is often hollowed out from a piece of wood (skaftos, construction) or else made from a gourd, but there are also baglamas with staved backs. Its small size made it particularly popular with musicians who needed an instrument transportable enough to carry around easily or small enough to shelter under a coat. During parts of the 20th century, players of the bouzouki and baglamas were persecuted by the government, and the instruments were smashed by the police.

The name comes from Turkish bağlama, a similar instrument.^[1]