So you want to know more about the Oud, but not sure what to expect? Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned musician, here are some good reasons why you should learn Oud and start playing from today.
1.) The Oud is the progenitor of the Guitar
The Oud is the grandfather of the modern Guitar. The Guitar that everyone loves so dearly today was descended from the Lute. If you look at a Lute, it’s easy to tell that the Lute was designed after seeing an Oud. The Oud was brought over to Europe during the crusades and when the Islamic Empire set up shop in Spain, and Byzantium.
As the Guitar is one of the most popular instruments today and serves as a great way to learn Western music theory, the Oud is the King of instruments in the Middle East and serves as the basis of any ensemble. The versatility of the Oud is the cornerstone of the development of Middle Eastern musical theory, it also allowed the player freedom to play many different keys of music and play many different scales (maqam).
If you play the Guitar today, remember that the Guitar exists because the Oud had a significant impact on the evolution of European music.
No Oud, no Guitar.
2.) Get gigs with Bellydancers
Belly Dance has a huge following all around the world. Famous belly dancers of the past would dance with live musicians, and even today some manage to have their own orchestra. But a lot of them don’t or can’t because there are simply not many middle eastern musicians in North America. There are even fewer who are willing to perform with bellydancers.
There is a niche that must be filled here. There are way more belly dancers than Oud players. So get cracking.
3.) It’s Fun
The music played on Oud can be anything you want it to be. It can be energetic, lively, dramatic, melancholic, and also very fun. The Oud is also an instrument worth sharing with others and can be played for dancers and percussionists. It can be played in ensembles. It is also very cool to look at. Now you can buy electric Ouds and even add distortion and play with different sounds.
4.) The Oud Offers Freedom
If you like to bend the rules, try something new, get out of old paradigms, or just want to play notes that you can’t find on a piano, the Oud is for you.
The Oud is fretless, allowing the player to play just about any frequency of sound within three octaves. That means you can play quartertones. Quartertones are the notes in between the notes on a piano. In other words, they don’t exist in Western music. Imagine a normal fretted Guitar that has 20 frets on it, now imagine someone put another 20 frets in between the frets that were already there… Now you have so many more potential notes to play. That is what it’s like to play the Oud. In Turkish music there are even more divisions between notes.
When you learn to play the Oud you will also learn how to improvise. Middle Eastern musicians sometimes improvise entire performances. If you are a Jazz musician, you may already be comfortable with this, but it may be a strange idea for classically trained musicians. Not to worry, anybody can learn how to improvise. You also are allowed to interpret music. No more sticking to the notation, hey… to hell with music stands!
5.) Stand Out from The Crowd
There’s hardly a day goes by when I’m walking around town with my Oud that I am not asked what that is slung on my back. Everybody and their dog plays Guitar nowadays, it’s almost impossible to be different from the rest. That’s probably why there are so many people playing Ukulele and other guitar-like instruments now. How many Mandolin players do you know who started as Guitar players? I was one of those… now I never touch the Guitar.
Not only is the instrument different, but the music and the sound is different and exotic. Trance, electronic, avant-garde, heavy metal? The possibilities are endless.
6.) Growing interest in World Music scene
For many years people have been looking for new sounds and ‘World Music’ has been around for a long time. This is becoming a big scene and there are now collaborations between East and West that span different genres as well.
7.) It will Make You a Better Musician
The Oud is definitely a challenging instrument, but it isn’t as difficult as the Piano. You will learn how to play notes that are not found in Western Music which will broaden your ears once you learn to differentiate between different scales and modes. This is truly a new frontier that can be very exciting.
You will learn a whole new music theory that focuses on modal melody (maqam) rather than harmony and chords. Tired of songs that follow the chord pattern I, IV, V? Don’t worry, because you won’t have to worry about playing chords at all.
You will learn how to improvise and interpret music rather than playing it note for note the way it is written on the page. A lot of music is learned by ear, so you will develop a skill that frees you from musical notation and allows you to learn a piece by ear.
You will also learn new rhythms that are rarely used in popular Western music, and learn to improvise and create melodies on the spot.
A lot of people go through a Western musical education thinking that it is the only way music can and should be played, but with Middle Eastern music you will hear sounds that don’t really make sense at first, but soon they become part of your heart. Learning the Oud changes the way you view music because unlike modern Western music which uses ‘equal temperament’, Oud music uses ‘just’ or ‘pure’ temperament which is what ‘nature’ intended. It makes you see music as a collection of natural sounds rather than a frequency of pitch determined by a algorithm. Each scale or mode creates a different mood and a different feeling even when they share the same notes.
8.) Oud music is deep, spiritual, and meditative
Anyone who has listened to music knows that it creates different effects on the body. Some music makes you excited, some music makes you fall asleep, and every effect in between. The Oud is not only a very dynamic and exciting instrument, but it also has a huge meditative effect and has been used in ancient history to create a relaxed state of mind.
Many a day have I come home after a long day and just needed to sit and play my Oud. It just has a calming and healing effect. It always brings me back into equilibrium. In my experience, it is the way the instrument resonates and the timbre that gives it this effect. It may also have to do with that it uses ‘just’ intonation and that it plays more closely to the way a voice sings.
9.) Middle Eastern music is deep and diverse and is a continuous study
Even the pros have not explored everything there is to explore about Oud music. I say this not to discourage you but because there are always new things you can try, new ways of playing traditional pieces, and new ways of interpreting songs. In Oud music, we also have something that is called ‘modulation’, this means playing one scale and changing to another one, and then to another one, and then coming all the way back again. There are so many ways of doing this. There are many traditional ways, but there are also new ways being discovered all the time.
Read what these Oud playing Master’s have to say about Oud music.
10.) If you want a bit of everything, the Oud is for you
The Oud is a great instrument for its versatility. If you play the Oud, you can play Greek music, Indian music, Iranian music, Chinese music, Japanese music, and many more. The Oud is not only the grandfather of the Guitar but also the Bouzouki, Mandolin, Chinese Pipa, and Japanese Biwa. It is the ultimate instrument for the ethnomusicologist. Indeed, the Oud should be their instrument of choice because it can play the music of many different cultures. Who can say no to that?
The best time to start learning the Oud is now. The Oud has spread worldwide. Ouds are being sold online. Oud makers are making the highest quality Ouds ever made due to modern innovation and technology. Oud strings are widely available, and made by many companies. Even the Canadian Guitar company Godin is making their own version of the Oud called the MultiOud. This is truly a new age for the Oud. As soon as people rediscover the charm of the Oud it can help reinvent music.
So what’s stopping you from learning the Oud? I’d like to know, tell me below!
Want to buy an Oud? The Ultimate Oud Buyers’ Guide will show you how!
Image credit: Vic on Flickr
Got a Oud for Christmas
That’s great!
I’m a bellydancer and also played classical guitar for about 7 years as a teenager. I’m planning to start learning oud this year, as I miss actually playing music as well as dancing to it. This article has made me even more determined to do it 🙂
Hey that’s fantastic. I’m glad it has you inspired!
By the time you read this you will probably already have the oud you want to play. But if you should have trouble finding what you want, I have what Navid would call a Turkish oud, though I think of it as Armenian, made in the style of the famous Armenian maker Karybian. It’s in storage at the moment, since I have two other Armenian-Turkish style ouds by John Merjanian of Philadelphia (now deceased). When I get it ready to advertise I will be asking $600, plus shipping if that’s involved. It includes a guitar pickup for amplification. Its tone is about par for Karybian style ouds, but it really stands out when amplified. As a belly dancer you must already be familiar with the sound of an amplified oud. Navid does not mention that by careful choice of amplification and where you pick the strings, you can achieve a tone much like that of an Arabic oud, if that’s what you prefer.
this is obviously a very old thread but please let me know if you’re still selling a merjanian oud. He was a relative and I would love to have one.
Thanks for your comment. I have never heard of this maker. Armenian?
Hi ,I’m Razen from syria I play oud and I want to thank you for this awsem website I learned new things here,and if anyone needs help lessons or advice on ouds and famous oud music let me know and thanks for the effort on this site
Hello Razen,
I would like to ask you some questions on Oud . Is it ok if I send you e-mail regarding Oud. I need some advice on buying Oud. My e-mail address is : pascalmiri1968@yahoo.com
Thank you , hope to hear from you. Best regards
i would like some advice razen
If you need advice, you are more than welcome to email me at support@oudforguitarists.com.
Thanks for this article! I just learned about the oud, listened to a variety of songs over YouTube played by Naseer Shamma, and am now looking for more resources over how and where to begin learning how to play the oud!
That’s great to hear. Let me know if you have any questions. I definitely recommend getting hooked on Mike Oud’s forums. (www.mikeouds.com) There is always lots to learn there.
One major thing about the oud is the solos that you can do with it.. You don’t reallyever listen to an electric guitar without other instruments to back it up..with the oud you are freed of that.
Also for people trying to learn there’s a website called I3zif.com you pay 90$ for a full online video course that even has it’s own book. I bought learn oud 1 then came back and bought the second course”next level”
Thanks for adding that. That’s a great point. But it has more to do with the nature of middle eastern music, than any intrinsic ability the Oud has over the electric guitar. The electric guitar is amazing for solo music, Jimi Hendrix made many recordings of solo electric guitar which he makes sound like an Orchestra.
The reason electric guitar is often backed up by other instruments is because of the nature of western harmony, which can create different chord voicings with different variations of the same chord.
Middle eastern music is based on melody and totally bypasses the peculiarities of different chord voicings.
hello.
i have been very interested in learning the oud for a long time. i am a beginner guitarist ( i know some simple chords)
i was wondering if i need to be a guitarist to learn from your courses? i dont really consider myself much of a guitarist
thanks.
gil
Thanks so much for asking.
The lessons were also developed for people with very little musical experience, so yes. I would recommend either the basic package, or the complete package so you can get extra help if you need in Skype lessons. The fast track package is more suitable for those who can really forge ahead on their own.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions.
Hello,
I used to play violin for 5 years but gradually my taste in music has changed! Now I adore the sound of Piano, Guitar and Oud. Playing Piano is not possible for me because of some reasons; but I am to choose between Guitar and Oud… Now the question is that is it possible to play western classical pieces or the songs you play on Guitar like Jazz, or Blues ones, or what on Oud? Do I have to tune it in a different way? Or maybe you say I should pick up a Guitar and learn it after I learned Oud…
Thank you very much.
That’s a good question. My answer would be yes and no.
The Oud is best played as a melodic instrument similar to violin in function. Chords are possible, but limited on the Oud. Playing chords requires a lot of effort and strength.
I think playing classical pieces is possible, however they might need to be adapted or arranged for oud, and sometimes you would need to tune one or two strings differently. I’m sure it can be done, but it takes a lot of effort and time.
I myself try to play mandolin and oud. The Oud is good for Middle Eastern music and the mandolin is better for western music. I try to play what is most appropriate for the instrument because that makes me enjoy it, even though it would be nice to have an instrument that can do everything.
You can play some jazz on the Oud, but the Oud does not function like a guitar would function. Approach the Oud like a melodic instrument in jazz and I’m sure you can manage a lot.
If you would like to discuss this more, feel free to send me an email at support@oudforguitarists.com.
i’ve been interested in the oud for a while now as i want to branch out from my guitar, banjo and cello and i also have had a fascination with middle eastern music for a while. thank you for setting up this site as i was very hesitant since i’m obviously more trained in western music, but from what you’ve said, it seems as though the transition will take some work, it won’t be very difficult or incredibly time consuming. thank you again for all of the information!
also, just as a heads up, there is an error in reason number 1. you said “The modern Guitar is the grandfather of the Oud.” i’m guessing you meant to say “the oud is the grandfather of the modern guitar.” just wanted to point that out to avoid any confusion is all, cheers!
Thanks for the correction! I will change that. I’m glad you’re finding the site useful! Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions anytime.
Hello, I would love to learn to play Oud. I’m half Palestinan and half Dutch and i want to get more in contact with my Palestinian/ Arabic side. I do have a feeling for music and i would like to know where i can buy a decent oud? Thx
Hey that’s great!
There are many places to get a decent Arabic Oud. But first, what is your budget? Probably the most inexpensive decent Arabic Ouds can be purchased from mauriceoudshop.com. They are receiving more stock in January and most of their Ouds are currently out of stock, but check it out regardless. Ebay is hit or miss sometimes. Another good place is http://www.mikeouds.com, sometimes people are selling Ouds there and they post pictures and sound clips. You can make a thread asking people if they have Ouds to sell, and I’m sure someone will contact you. If you would like a custom made Oud which is more expensive, you can always contact any of the Oud builders listed on the Ultimate Guide on this site:
https://www.oudforguitarists.com/oud-makers-ultimate-oud-buyers-guide-2/
Hi there,
I read on internet that it is kind of tricky to buy Oud online because you cannot check it out. And a lot of time there are many bad ones that you cannot really play a good tune. Is that true? Of course if I could try one out then the would be no problem to choose. So I am very reluctant to buy Oud online.
you can reach me on :
facebook.razen khyou
or : superstecious@gmail.com
I know I spilled superstecius wrong 🙂
Hi Navid,
Thanks for your Oud lessons posted on youtube. I live in Saudi Arabia as an expat and I got interest to learn to paly an Oud. So, I bought an Oud musical instrument locally. It is confusing me about the tuning of my 5 string Oud which are explained in different string combinations by different people. How to ensure that the first string of my Oud is “C” or “G” …
Thanks.
That’s awesome. The first string should be C. (The one closest to the ground when holding the Oud)
Ouds are simply one of a number of instruments in a big family. There are others that are older. Realistically a broomhandle, a cigar box, a pair or three or so tuners and strings, and you can build in a few hours a fretless instrument that can be played exactly like an oud. Without spending hundreds of dollars. It can be tuned any way you like, strung any way you want, etc. I just finished building an electric/acoustic dutar/baglama for considerably less than eighty dollars. Build one. Or two.