We’re going to have an Oud Workshop at OudforGuitarists all online. In this Oud Workshop, we’re going to take a look at some exercises that will allow you to play Abdel Wahab’s “Aziza” in an advanced way with ornaments and embellishments. We will then learn how to play Aziza in a basic way, and show you how to add the ornamentation learned in the exercises. Notation will be provided for…
Read MoreLearn Arabic Oud – Alf Leila we Leila (Intro) Part II
Learn Arabic Oud here with Oud for Guitarists. In case you haven’t already seen it, check out Alf Leila we Leila Part I here. Now you can also check out Part II below. You can learn Oud from a bare beginner level all the way up to an advanced level with Oud for Guitarists. Are you looking to learn the ornaments and embellishments I added to this piece? You might…
Read MoreLearn Alf Leila wa Leila الف ليلة وليله – ام كلثوم (intro) on Oud
As I mentioned last week… in my newsletter… (You’re on my newsletter right? If not, get on.) There will be a new tutorial on Umm Kulthum’s song Alf Leila was Leila (composed by Baligh Hamdi). It’s here! I have always stayed away from doing Umm Kulthum tunes because I don’t really enjoy the recording quality. It makes it really hard to hear what the instruments are playing, so it’s hard to…
Read More7 Benefits of Private Oud lessons (#7 is the coolest)
I was Live on YouTube again for over an hour discussing the benefits of taking private Oud lessons, and I wanted to give you the rundown on the session: (scroll down for the video) Discounts on Oud Lessons in August I’m giving discounts on Oud lessons in August, the deadline is Friday August 7 11:59 PM Pacific time. Book here. Get 20% off the price listed. The Benefits of Private…
Read MoreWhat Can Private Oud Lessons Do For You?
Some people teach themselves music. Some people go to a Royal Conservatory. Some people study music at University. Some people (like me) learned music completely through one-on-one private lessons. What’s your experience with learning music? Or learning an instrument? Now you can learn Piano and Guitar with high-tech apps for your tablet or smartphone. Everyone is different and learn best using an assortment of different tools. How do you fit…
Read MoreHow to Play Aziz Joon on Oud – Persian Oud
There are not that many tutorials out there teaching Persian Oud style. However, the Oud has become rather popular in the last 20 years in Iran. There are a lot of great young Oud players in Iran nowadays. One classic album is “Koohestan” by Hossein Behroozinia with whom I studied Oud with. One famous piece from this album is the fiery Aziz Joon, the title of the piece on the…
Read MoreDid you know? You Can Learn Modulations and Taqasim Principles from Compositions.
As you develop as an Oud player you are going to learn more and more repertoire from old masters and composers. Little do we know it at the time but we are slowly integrating their music into ourselves. With that, we can integrate the modulations and melodies used to inform our own taqasim practice as we advance in our playing. In other words, you’ll learn modulations that you can use in…
Read MoreChange Oud Strings like a pro! This video has it all.
With this video you can change Oud strings like a pro. Changing Oud strings for the first time can be a very daunting task. A few weeks ago I did a YouTube Live stream showing you exactly how I change Oud strings. Here I share valuable tips that I haven’t shared anywhere else. New Oud Foundation Program This month we were able to film a bunch of new tutorials that…
Read MoreRast is like a super-interchange
Jins Rast is like a super-interchange on the highway of maqams. I approach modal music in some ways the way a linguist would approach language. In the same way, my personal theory of modal music is that there exists a proto-mode from which all modes originate. I believe the proto-mode is Rast or the tetrachord Rast. In response to a question, I wrote the following on MikeOuds Forums some time…
Read MoreMaqams: A Tapestry
I used to think maqams had 7 notes, like Western scales… and I used to think they were very rigid. But now, I see maqams more like a mosaic, or like a tapestry… This tapestry has been built on for thousands of years, added to, destroyed and lost, adapted, and sometimes simplified or reduced, but they are connected and webbed together by common threads. Today I want to show you the…
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