Baglama (Greek)

Visually, the little Greek Baglama, a stringed musical instrument with a pear-shaped body and long neck, is a scaled down version of the bouzouki with its ornate inlaid face and ribbed bowl back. Like its big brother, the baglama is tuned modally to D-A-D, but pitched an octave higher. The stringing arrangement features unison pairs on the 4 highest strings and an octave pair on the lower D. Musically, the baglama is most often found in the "Pireas" style of Rembetika, where it takes on the accompaniment role of supporting the bouzouki.

The body, is often made from a hollowed out piece of wood (this is called skaftos construction) or 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 baglama were persecuted by the government, and the instruments were smashed by the police.