MICHAEL TEO
Bouzouki Player and Teacher
Bouzouki Player and Teacher
MUSIC IS THE LANGUAGE THAT CAN EXPRESS ALL THE THINGS THAT WE CAN’T PUT INTO WORDS BUT FEEL SO DEEPLY

MICHAEL TEO
Bouzouki Player and Teacher
Bouzouki Player and Teacher
MUSIC IS THE LANGUAGE THAT CAN EXPRESS ALL THE FEELINGS THAT WE CAN’T PUT INTO WORDS BUT FEEL SO DEEPLY
About
I play bouzouki and teach people to play bouzouki.
I’m a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and educator. I started playing classical piano at 8 years old and then soon after took up the guitar when I was 11. I got my first bouzouki at 18. It was a gift from my uncle and aunt, who brought it back from their trip to Greece (like most peoples first bouzouki). After high school, I studied music at the University of Melbourne, School of Music entering on the piano and majoring in composition. After my formal studies I started a band called Ping that played original instrumental music and performed at most of the major Australian music festivals. Around the same time I began learning to play other instruments including oud, flutes and whistles, erhu (a Chinese fiddle) and percussion. I took traditional style bouzouki lessons with virtuoso George Spirou (Γιώργος Σπύρου) to further my knowledge of Greek music and skills on the instrument. I now specialise in playing and teaching the bouzouki and am currently studying Byzantine chant. As well as music I also love photography, which I was introduced to by one of my bouzouki students.
Bouzouki Lessons
The traditional approach
The Western classical approach
Modern methods

My Personal Approach to Teaching the Bouzouki
We can achieve anything that we put our mind to
My approach to teaching the bouzouki reconciles the traditional, classical and modern teaching methods to reap the benefits of each of the three. I always begin with an interview to asses student needs and determine goals.
Each student is different with unique goals and their own strengths and weaknesses. I structure the bouzouki lessons based on my evaluation of the student and determine the most efficient and effective method to reach their goals. Some people are visual and need to see what they are learning, others need to hear it, some need to try it themselves and feel it in their hands others need an explanation. I am constantly developing and refining my approach to teaching am always learning as I encounter new students and guide them through their journey with the bouzouki. Lessons focus on developing correct playing technique to support free expression in the traditional Greek style of bouzouki. Lessons include studies of scales/modes (dromoi), rhythms, chords, arpeggio studies, reading music, taximia (improvised solos) and is applied through traditional and modern repertoire. I use various resources including audio, video, music notation, my own notes, YouTube, Dropbox and email in order to provide my students with all the facilities they need to get the most out of their bouzouki lessons.
I use instrumental instruction as a vehicle to invite and encourage people to discover who they are. I focus on developing the correct technique to support free creative expression. I always aim to empower, encourage, liberate, inspire and motivate others toward positive action, drawing out the capacity in others to achieve their goals and reach their highest potential.

Videos
Some of my students
“I’ve been taking bouzouki lessons for just over a year now. Michael has been my first and only bouzouki teacher and I am amazed on how much I have learnt. There are many different methods on how to learn and Michael uses one or even a mixture of them that accommodates me best. A great thing about Michael is the passion you see when he plays and teaches. And through this passion I always seem to reach my full potential with each lesson I go to. Not only does Michael go in depth with his teaching but always has a great story of where certain techniques and songs being taught originates from and why it needs to be learnt a specific way.
It makes me proud to play bouzouki in front of my family, especially my grandfather who played throughout his life and inspired me to learn for him as well as for myself.
Each lesson is very productive but also involves a good laugh along the way.
Michael is truly an amazing teacher who is dedicated in sharing his experience with his students. He has taught me that through practice, dedication and patience, you can not only hear, but also feel the music that comes out of this beautiful instrument.”
“Michael has been teaching my son, Constantine, bouzouki for 18 months. He uses the classic bouzouki technique to teach this challenging instrument combining both the theoretical and practical aspects in a fun and engaging way. Michael’s extensive knowledge and deep passion for the bouzouki clearly resonates with Constantine and I have observed some life changing transformations. The experience has significantly improved Constantine’s self confidence when it comes to expressing himself as he never shies away from playing in front of guests when we are entertaining at home. The experience has also taught Constantine the value of discipline and persistence when striving to reach a goal. He sets a constant time every day and applies it to all aspects of bouzouki playing whether it be playing a scale, arpeggio or learning a brand new song.
I believe Michael has played a significant role in extracting these great qualities in
Constantine. He is a fantastic role model for Constantine and constantly encourages and challenges him at the same time. Every lesson usually ends with both student and teacher playing a song in perfect unison and as an Australian of Greek extraction, this takes me back to the beautiful picturesque Greek islands.”
“I’ve known Michael now for almost twenty years and we he have performed together numerous times, written music together and exchanged information regarding teaching and referred students to each other. I have found him to immensely creative, intelligent and gathering from his students, a good teacher. Furthermore Michael has good interpersonal skills, is disciplined, punctual and takes care in everything he does. He loves to divulge information, which in my mind makes him a natural teacher.”
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Michael has been teaching my son Ioan for approximately one year and it is proving to be one of the most significant and rewarding learning experiences in his life. Michael has tremendous skill in encouraging and challenging his students, in developing their skills at a pace that suits them and he is also able to engage with them in an intellectually stimulating way. He is clearly deeply knowledgeable and committed to his craft as a practitioner and as a teacher.I could not recommend him highly enough.”
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FAQ
Although they are both plucked fretted stringed instruments, the guitar and the bouzouki have distinctly different playing techniques. Both the picking and fretting hands on the bouzouki are used differently than guitar technique. Generally, the bouzouki is considered a melody instrument whereas the guitar is used as both a harmonic and melodic instrument. Also, most of the scale and arpeggio positions are different as the bouzouki mainly uses the two treble strings to play melodies up and down the neck favouring position shifts whereas the guitar plays scales across the neck favouring playing in one position. Different fingerings are used on the bouzouki to facilitate the highly ornamented playing style.
Overall, there will be an adjustment period while adapting to the new playing technique. It I important to consider the instruments as being separate and having their own distinct technique.
The two melody strings are tuned on unison and the μπουργάνα/ες are tuned in octaves.The 4 course (τετράχορδο/οχτάχορδο) bouzouki is tuned C3/C4, F3/F4, A3, D4. This is the same as the four treble strings of a guitar transposed down a tone.
Some bouzouki players recently have been tuning the same as the treble strings of a guitar (D3/D4, G3/G4, B3, E4) but this is not very common.
The 3 course (τρίχορδο/εξάχορδο) is tuned D3/D4, A3, D4.
Before the 20th century, there were various tunings used for the 3 course bouzouki that were referred to as karadouzenia (Gr: καραντουζένια). Each tuning was associated with a particular mode (δρόμο) that it was used to play. The current tuning (D A D) was originally referred to as Europaikos (Gr: Ευροπαϊκός) and was likely adopted as standard since it was used for all of the modes.
Music involves many different things. It is both an accumulation of knowledge as well as a fine motor skill, it is both a mental and emotional art. In developing a physical skill it is much more effective to practice frequently rather than in long sessions. Five minutes a day is a lot more effective than an hour on the weekend, even though the total time is less. We need to remember that we are training our hands to move in certain specific ways and the best way to make this happen is to do it frequently. This ensures that we are approaching it fresh every time and that through constant repetition the movements become sub-conscious. In the beginning it would be best to practice between 15-30 minutes a day (in 2 or even 3 sessions) 5 or 6 days a week. The most important thing to do is to make sure that you are practicing correctly and accurately while avoiding any unnecessary tension. You can leave your bouzouki next to your desk (if you have the kind of job that allows you to) and pick it up for a few minutes every so often throughout the day.
Another important thing to consider is the effectiveness of your practice sessions. You should be setting specific goals for every practice session, not just “to play for 10 minutes”. Examples of specific goals could be “to practice this exercise so that I can play it smoothly with 100% accuracy at 60 beats per minute”. Most of your practice should be done with a metronome. That way, you will see continual improvement and advance as quickly as possible.
When children are young, they have more time and fewer expectations of themselves, they also have a more lighthearted attitude toward what they do which keeps it fun, however as we get older, we have better ability to concentrate, are more disciplined, are more organised, have more developed listening skills (can hear melody, rhythm and harmony better) are more mature. The main trouble that adult music students have is making the time to practice.
Learning any bouzouki or any musical instrument takes time and requires effort, so it is important to be both patient and persistent. The one thing that keeps us going is the passion for the instrument and the music. Regardless of our abilities or at what stage in life we are, if we love it and have a passion for it we will continue to practice and we will achieve our goals.
If children are talented then of course we want to nurture this, however we want to be careful not to put them off music by beginning their study too early at a time when they are unable to keep up with the lessons.
My personal view is that the ideal age for a child to begin learning bouzouki is about 7-8 years old, when they are large enough to hold the instrument and old enough to take responsibility for their practice. However, every person is different and no one knows a child better than the parents. It may be appropriate for a child to begin earlier or later than this.
However, if you really do want to do something before your first lesson, then it would be useful to start creating a list of songs that you would like to learn.
Historically, the bouzouki was also referred to in ancient times as a “τρίχορδο” (three string/course) as well as “πανδούρα” or “πανδουρίδα”, when the instruments began to be made with double strings, the name more specifically referred to the number of courses.
In Greece, notes are named according to the “Fixed Do” Solfège system using the syllables Do Re Mi Fa Sol La and Si (Ti) to name the notes whereas in Australia, the standard system uses the letters A to G. Having been originally trained in classical piano, I use the Western system, but use the “Fixed Do” system when I am speaking in Greek. I think that it is best for a musicians to know both the terminology traditionally used for their instrument as well as the standard terminology used in the country in which they live. Ultimately, can call notes whatever we want but the names we give them are secondary to the sound they make and the music itself.
Get in Touch
I am currently accepting new students
If you want to book your first lesson, have any questions or just want to say hi feel free to get in touch and I’ll be happy to help you out.