"Tamboura" is the name greeks have used for many years to descibe the series of stringed instruments belonging to the bouzouki family, there is of course the bouzouki , the tzoura and last but not least the baglama, all with striking similarities, the neck, the pearshaped sound box ,the fretted finger board the bridges and machine heads, and all are generally played with a plectrum. the main difference in all these instruments is the size.

The bouzouki hasnt changed over its many years of existance, however it has evolved from a six string intrument to an eight string instrument, which is most popular with bouzouki players today, and the playing style and technique have also been amended to reflect on todays sounds and musical expectation.
The eight string version is strung in four pairs of two strings tunning from bottom up in order of:: D.A.F.C.

The six string type, which is still widely used mainly for its "rebetiko"sound (greek blues) is tuned as followed: bottom pair in D, middle pair in A, and third pair also in D.

A good bouzouki player must be able to produce clean notes at a higher speed than other stringed insruments. It takes years of studying and countless hours of constant practicing on a daily basis to achieve this.
But once a player commits to playing the instrument he may not be able to slack off and ignore daily practice time, as this will result in a decline in his dexterity and agility.

Keep in mind that regardless of how much one devotes to practicing, not everyone may be able to master the true sound and feel of the bouzouki, as it is a reflection of the players soul.