Artistic Lutherie (καλλιτεχνικη Οργανοποιια)

Speed training course !

The Art Book-Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Lately, I see more and more amateur Greek traditional-luthiers with passion and zeal to construct beautiful musical instruments.
Nevertheless very often I noticed some aesthetic omissions, recurring in my opinion due to the duplication of the same overall aesthetics and design by instruments constructed from older -famous luthiers.
So I thought, to create a very small aesthetic course for the new but also for the older/master luthier, showing a completely different approach to the bouzouki construction and decoration
Images taking out from " The Art Book" illustrations  (http://memoriesoftheinnocentage.blogspot.com/p/art-book.html)  -Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Neck

Most of us see the neck as a structural element of construction, and less as a medium of identifying the musical instruments we create.

The way of positioning the fret markers over the neck can lead us to a personal identification of our musical instruments' construction.


The luthier can follow basic design rules/patterns  when positioning the fret-markers on the fret board
Some of these rules are:
-The following theme pattern,
-The linking of the theme pattern,
-The negative /positive shape pattern
-The marking at the frets where should be absence of fret-markers (revers marking)
-The positioning of the fret markers exterior, over the neck fillets
- Separation of presence /absence marking at the 12 fret

The negative / positive fret-markers shape -Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Separation of present /absence marking at the 12 fret -.Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Reverse marking .- Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Bowl

The way we are placing the staves and their fillets can create this extra personal identification on your instruments. The combination and patterns are many when the luthier "plays"  with the number/ position of staves and inner filet

The staves by themselves are also luthier's creative canvas.
Inserted marquetry in the staves, decorative rosettes at the side capping, or main capping strip, etch

1-2-1 Stave placement- Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Decorative marquetry in staves - Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Stave grouping .- Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Pick guard

Usually we are decorating the  pick-guard  with elements. What would happen if the shape of the pick-guard was our decoration?
And how can I link the decoration around the sound hole with the pick-guard and the rosette decoration so I can get something different?
The pick-guard of a tambourobouzouko in the following image creates the sensation of another internal musical instrument

Pick-guard shape used as soundboard decoration- Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017

Tail-piece, ending of fret-board, head-stock, and sound-hole

There are still more elements to consider from a different viewpoint for the instrument, which until now you may have seen them simply as structural elements of your construction.

All of the elements  of the bouzouki must be aligned with the general theme.

Typically, the tail-piece can be the mirror image of the pick-guard or the rosette. The ending of the fret-board close to the sound-hole can similarly be the mirror image of the head stock, etch.

Tail-piece, to ending of the fret-board , to the end of  the head stock- - Personal Patterns (C) S.DIMIS 2017