The fingerboard, which is part of the neck, is adorned with marker inlays which are also usually replicated on the side of the neck. At the beginning of the fingerboard is the nut, which is a precisely shaped and grooved bar of bone, which also determines the spacing and height of the strings on the fingerboard.

THE KEYS:

The frets in ancient times were made of hand-shaped raw brass. Today, the metal constituting the keys is nickel. In addition, some manufacturers have adopted stainless steel keys for their instruments. The number of frets varies from 17, for inexpensive studio models, to 29 for concert mandolins.
         Petrone Serena

Smaller than the tammorra, it has a wooden frame of a diameter that varies between 20 and 30 cm and whose height does not exceed 7 cm, decorated with colored ribbons and with some tin or metal saucers (called cimbali), inserted in some open crevices along the circumference.

The castagnette, a typical Neapolitan instrument of induced percussion wood, are formed by a central part and two lateral parts. The central part, flat, has a round or oval shape below, while the upper part with a spatula forms the handle with which the instrument is held.The two lateral parts, as big as the lower part of the central one, are slightly concave and are tied with ribbons to the intermediate one, through holes made in all three pieces of wood, at the height corresponding to the base of the handle. Shaking the instrument, the side woods collide with the central part, producing the characteristic sound.

The outer parts of the Castagnette were embellished with drawings and inlays.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=USQyyGYP8m4&feature=share

The reeds are mounted on wooden frames (soniere) fixed inside two drawers, also wooden, both equipped with a button keyboard. Each keyboard operates a series of valves that allow air to pass through reeds and produce sound. The inflow of air to the reeds takes place through the movement of the bellows that connects the two cases.The keyboard of the right hand, in which the notes are ordered by diatonic scales, is used for the execution of the melody, while the keyboard of the left hand (bass and chords) is used for the rhythmic accompaniment.
https://youtu.be/GGqPZH7ho94

A sweet little tune played on the lyre.

Some consider that Terpander of Lesvos (the father of Greek music and lyric poetry) to have invented the instrument in the 7th Century BC. However, the instrument is thought to have originated from Anatolia.

The poetess Sappho was a virtuoso of the instrument and composed many songs. Yet another native of Lesvos, Phrynis, is the first man to have played the kithara in Athens.

In mythology it was Hermes who is credited with creating the kithara from tortoise shell which Apollo the god of music adopted as his chosen instrument.

The lyre was the popular four-string version of the Kithara that was easier to play and was mostly used as a folk instrument in rustic events.

The bouzouki was brought into Greece in the early 20th Century by immigrants from Asia Minor. It’s steel strings are played with a plectrum. There are two types: the Trichordo with three pairs of strings and the tetrachordo (four pairs) which was developed in 1950s and made popular by Manolis Chiotis. The bouzouki has 27 frets along its neck.

It became central instrument of the rebetiko music and despite the best efforts of the authorities, it has since become the key instrument of Greek laiko/popular music.

In our region there are some Orchestras, who play this kind of music in their free time as a hobby orchestra. They have their origin in military organizations during the GDR (German Democratic Republic). The sound is a little bit of military style, but with modern pop songs they are favourites to every party.