The art of instrument making

Instrument making is the craft of building and repairing musical instruments. Its roots go back thousands of years, to when people first learned how to make sound, although no date can be given, since what counts as a musical instrument is open to interpretation. Since then the craft has developed enormously, keeping pace with science and technology.

The instrument maker (luthier) builds, repairs and maintains musical instruments, and improves how they sound and play.

He uses many tools, such as chisels, planes, gouges, drills, a lathe, a spray gun for varnish, screwdrivers, hammers and more.

The basic materials are wood and metal.

Instrument making requires patience, skill, organisation, imagination and a love of music.

In Greece, the instruments most often made by Greek makers are the guitar, the bouzouki, the tzouras, the laouto, the lyra and the baglamas.

The two oldest and most 'famous' instruments made in Greece are the tambouras of Makrygiannis and the tambouras of Fotis Tzavelas.