I have a baglama that i just bought and I'm trying to find someone who can help me play this lovely instrument.... if anyone could teach me online that would be soooo awesome...

Thanks
Denize

I have a baglama that i just bought and I'm trying to find someone who can help me play this lovely instrument.... if anyone could teach me online that would be soooo awesome...

Thanks
Denize

I have a baglama that i just bought and I'm trying to find someone who can help me play this lovely instrument.... if anyone could teach me online that would be soooo awesome...

Thanks
Denize

You have a nice one.

I have a "cura" which looks almost exactly like yours.
Basically a small bağlama.

I assume you either play guitar and have access to people who do, who can help you.

It works lıke a banjo/ I tune the three strings like the middle three strings of a guitar. A, D, G. EXCEPT that the first string is an octave higher than normal.

I use the 1st and 2nd strings for chords and the third for melody. I have watched Turk player with full size bağlamas and they also play melody on the third string.

THere are more frets than a guitar, you have to "feel it out" to figure out where to put you fingers.

Take care.

(kendine iyi bak.)

There are many different techniques for playing baglama.
While some of them are very complicated and extremely difficult to master, the easiest and the most common technique is called "kara düzen" it is almost meant for everyone wishing to be able to play baglama. Also depending on the size of the instrument, both the function and the technique of playing greatly vary. For example, cura (the smallest baglama) has an extremely dramatic sound and is a solo instrument. Sometimes two curas play different parts of the melody creating a polyphonic sound.
Other sizes of baglama are often played in groups and used to accompany other instruments or a vocalist.

Here is a Youtuube link featuring a cura solo, note that the player uses all the strings to create the melody.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR-JwXweGLU

When you start looking for the origin of the word baglama you are destined to get lost immediately.

These are the names historically given to baglama:

Kopuz, Komus, Saz, Sazılak, Bozuk, Boz ok, Çöğür, Çanğür, Çağur, Ruzba ,Irızva,Tanbura, Dombra, Dutar, Dıngıra, Dıngırdak, Destek, İki telli, Çiftetelli, Bulgari. Baz, Berene, Çeşte, Karadüzen, Harek

As you see karadüzen is both a name for baglama and also a way to tune baglama. There is a "karar perdesi" which we can explain as the note that you start with, venture away from but always come back to. If that karar perdesi is the nore "RE" then you are using kara düzen. Another name for kara düzen iz bozuk düzen hence the name of the Greek instrument bouzuki and the root of the entire Greek music including Rebetico.

It is not surprizing that zeybek and zeybekiko are common in both cultures. That genre is a part of the identities of both peoples. It originated and developed in this country where Greeks and Turks lived together for hundreds of years.

P.S. Bozuk means broken, but musically speaking, it is a tradition to use such confusing words, the most common rhyrhm pattern in Turkish music is called aksak which means "not smoothly going", "limpy" etc.

It seems what identifies Turkish and Greek music is the presence of these deviated elements.

Here are some zeybek link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVyYxamYXc4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb08M-8BcSQ&feature=related