Here is a brief education in Middle Eastern music listening. If you want to become more familiar with Arabic music and don’t know where to begin, I have 50 suggestions for you. This is just a mere, humble list, and really does not do justice to the rich musical traditions of each area I mention, but it is a strong start. I made three categories: Arabic, Turkish, Persian. The list…
Read MoreOud Chords – How to Play Some Basic Chords on the Oud
I don’t play chords on the Oud much or emphasize learning them. I prefer a more traditional approach, but I thought this would be a fun post and I was requested to provide some material for this purpose. Important notes: 1. It is not necessary to learn chords on the Oud. 2. This is not a traditional way of playing. 3. Oud chords can sometimes be used to…
Read MorePianos Are Out of Tune – A Discussion on Equal Temperament and Oud Music
Did you know Pianos are intentionally tuned “out of tune”? Yes it’s true. Modern Pianos are all tuned using a system called “Equal Temperament”. In fact, you can’t use your ear to tune a Piano in equal temperament because our ears don’t hear notes in this manner. Piano tuners use a device and they need to know how much each note needs to be “out of tune” in order to…
Read MoreArabic and Persian Music – Arabic Maqam and Persian Dastgah Comparison
Arabic and Persian Music – Arabic Maqam and Persian Dastgah Equivalents I thought it would be interesting and essential to write a post for those who want to get their bearings on Arabic and Persian scale systems. This post compares the Arabic Maqam to Persian Dastgah to show where and how they overlap. I have never seen a comparison of this kind before. It is relatively a superficial comparison…
Read MoreThe Art of Oud Taqsim – 6 Secrets that will make you sound like Farid Al-Attrash
An Oud Taqsim is probably one of the most well-known musical forms in the Middle East. If you want to play the Oud, you must learn how to play a Taqsim, an Oud solo. Without going into too many details about maqams and theory, here are 6 essential things to think about when you are practicing your taqsim. 1. Opening Your Oud Taqsim The opening first notes that you play…
Read MorePersian Rhythms
Traditional Persian Rhythms Traditional Persian rhythms are not particularly profuse as one might expect. If you compare the number of common rhythms we have in Persian music to the Arabic ones described on maqamworld you will see that there are not so many traditional Persian rhythms. The rhythms that are discussed here are not comprehensive, but they are a purview of the rhythms you will hear in Persian music…
Read MoreOud Tuning by Ear
For a beginner it is easier to tune your Oud with a digital tuner. But what did the Oud players of old do? They tuned their instruments by ear. This video is going to show you how to tune your Oud by ear. After really learning Middle Eastern music, you will learn that the value of pitches or frequency is not as important in Middle Eastern music as it is…
Read MoreWords of Wisdom – from World Famous Oud Masters
It is every Oud learner’s dream to study with world famous professional Oud players. Yet many of us only get to see these Oud masters in person at their concerts if they ever come into our town, and getting personal advice and their secrets from them seems like another dream. To help all Oud learners out there with similar urge to listen to renowned Oud masters’ words of…
Read MoreMaqam Hijaz Medley
As I introduced in my article, Arabic Maqam Theory – A Brief Introduction, there are many maqams that are commonly used in the Middle Eastern music, and each maqam has smaller sections. Some maqams sound very similar because they share same notes. Same but different. This may have caused some of you to think, “Do I need to learn all these maqams before I can play the Oud?” …
Read MoreArabic Maqam Theory – A Brief Introduction
This article is going to be a concise introduction to Arabic maqam theory. My hope is that this will break down the basics for you to understand what is going on in Arabic music in terms of what scales are being played and how to modulate. For a beginner, one of the most important things to do in order to learn this music is to listen to Arabic music a…
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