The right hand is extremely important in order to play authentic Oud. Here is one basic strumming exercise that you can use to hone your skills. Alternate picking on parallel strings! Check out the video to learn how to do it! Alternate Picking on Two Adjacent Strings – Essential Right Hand Technique Difficulty: Easy to Moderate What? Alternate picking is essentially down stroke, up stroke, repeatedly.…
Read MoreThe Secret to Playing Taqsim – Jins Rast
Ever wonder how modulations work in taqsim? Ever find yourself listening to a taqsim and never understanding what’s going on? This week I attempted to put some Maqam stuff into the technique series. You’re going to see how you can use Jins Rast to move into other Maqamat. The use of Jins Rast is something I wanted to add into the Maqam Mastery Program but realized it was too…
Read More5 Steps to Learn Oud without a Teacher or a Book (#3 is ridiculous…)
This is an article for those of you who want to start learning the Oud but have no idea what to do with the instrument once you get it in your hands. This is for those of you who don’t want to buy a book, or have no access to a beginners book and want to start right away. I get a lot of emails from people who want…
Read MoreThe Secret to Playing Taqsim Using Jins Rast (modulating to many different maqamat)
Ever wonder if there is one good trick or tool to use to create a seamless modulation from one maqam to another? Ever listen to a taqsim where the Oud player confuses your ears and you can’t follow what he’s doing until you realize he’s playing a completely different maqam than what he started out playing? I know I’ve experienced these situations plenty of times. But I’m now going…
Read MoreFree Sheet Music: Middle Eastern, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and Persian
A lot of people are looking for sheet music to learn new pieces. Here is a list of some good sources for free downloadable sheet music. If you know of any other links or sources for Middle Eastern Sheet Music please let us know so we can share it with everyone online and encourage people to learn. Free Sheet Music Arabic Sheet Music MEMA This is my favorite site. Most…
Read MoreThe Chraibi Slide
Want to play like a pro? Then I’ve got just the technique for you. I call it, the Chraibi Slide. Check out the video below to learn how to do it! The Chraibi Slide – Oud Technique Difficulty: Advanced Prerequisites techniques: Trill, Tremolo, Slide. See the Foundation Program to learn how to play these core Oud techniques in-depth. What? The Chraibi slide is a flourished slide…
Read MoreTremolo Pull Off – Essential Oud Technique
Thanks for checking out this week’s post. It is a few weeks late due to computer repair, but better late than never. This technique will give you some variety and it’s very simple, but it might take some practice to master and some time to figure out how to apply it. It’s called, Tremolo pull off. Check out the video below to learn how to do it! Tremolo…
Read MoreAdvanced Hammer on Pull off Combinations
Advanced Hammer-on Pull-off combinations are where your Oud playing will come to life. You will hear these nuances often in all kinds of traditional Middle Eastern music. Check out the video below to learn how to do it! Advanced Hammer on Pull off Combinations Difficulty: Advanced What? Advanced Hammer-on Pull-off combinations are where hammer-ons and pull-offs work together to create another unique nuance, or melodic phrase.…
Read MorePull-Offs – Oud Techniques
As I promised, you’re going to learn how to do a pull-off on the Oud. It’s a great technique to learn and it goes hand in hand with Hammer-ons. I admit, it was very challenging to try and teach this technique. It’s so much easier to teach one on one, but when you have a larger audience and you’re not in-person, you always hope you are making sense. So…
Read MoreThe Hammer On Oud Technique
Another important Oud technique is called a hammer-on. It is an important guitar technique as well. I remember when I first learned how to play hammer-ons on the guitar, I thought it was such a cool technique. I spent all my high school years listening to Jimi Hendrix albums, and wanted to play music like him. His use of hammer-ons is extensive and advanced. Playing hammer-ons are easier on…
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