Traditionally, this music is played on gajda bagpipes and kaval flutes. The ensembles of the ex-Yugoslavian nations are accompanied by a stringed instrument with double courses called the tambura, or the smaller tamburica. These instruments are related to the tambouras, bouzouki, baglama saz and so on.
In Northern Greece (in Macedonia and Thrace), a laouto would accompany the modal music, if at all. Violin and clarinet are also popular. You see, bouzouki players are very creative people. So while this music is absolutely not played on bouzouki traditionally, of course people who like this kind of folk music will try to play it on their instrument. If I can do it on bouzouki, I can do it on mandolin, was my thinking. The playing styles of bouzouki and tambura are shockingly similar, anyway, if we forget for a second that one is used for rembetiko and pop music and the other for folk music. I like to play it in DAd then.
I had one of my mandolins in an alternate tuning yesterday and was inspired. There is nothing speaking against GDAe, but I prefer a modal or open tuning for this. I didn't like open G tuning GDGb and the cross tuning GDGd lent itself better to Epirote and Albanian folk music. This GDGc was perfect. I just found out that many players like to tune their tambura DGBe, actually. My next step would have been ADAd, after not finding GDAd all that appealing. So here is my improvisation in GDGc.
FWIW, this kind of music is also fun to play on the guitar!
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