Oud Picks : The Ultimate Oud Buyers’ Guide Part 5

Part 5: Oud Picks

The final accessory required to get you started on the Oud is an Oud pick. It called mezraab/mizrap in Farsi and Turkish and Reesha in Arabic. Whatever you call it, you’re going to need a good one. Don’t go cutting up your old yogurt containers yet, there are much better options out there!

The mezraab is long and thin. It is held not only by the fingers but the whole hand. Don’t use a guitar pick to play the Oud, it will limit your technique in the long run, and it just won’t give you the right sound. The attack of the mezraab is very unique for the Oud.

DIY Oud Pick

I used to make my Oud picks myself.

I would search for adequate plastic around my house. I would take apart binders, cut them up and sand away until I got the shape I wanted. They turned out pretty good and I gave a bunch to my teacher for him to give to his other students.

I stopped using these after finding some nice cable ties that were thick enough to sand down and dense enough to create the attack sound I wanted. These became my favorite picks and I still use them today. The problem with them is that they took hours to shape and sand!

Then my dog found one and chewed it up!

Buy Your Picks

Cow horn:

Zaza Cow horn risha – I haven’t tried these myself, but I love cow horn risha.

Cow horn risha by Arab Instruments – Another good source of cow horn risha for your arsenal.

Pyramid Risha – these risha are some of the most common, “go-to” risha available.

Oud Pick Materials

Historically, the Oud has been played with a wooden pick, and even the quill from an Eagle. Different types of plastic are your best bets now, but there are actually some natural products that might be of interest to you as well.

These are a few that I have tried:

Pyramid picks

These picks are great. They are made from celluloid. I have used them before. At oudstrings they even sell stiffer picks for those who are looking for better tone and stiff attack.

Sala Muzik Variety Pack

Excellent Oud picks made from celluloid of a variety of colors, patterns, and thicknesses. A must-have for your arsenal.

Bull Horn/Cow horn

I was given a Bull horn risha as a gift and it changed the way I think about plectrum material forever. Bull horn picks are by far my favorite type of Oud pick.

It gives superior quality of tone, and comfort. It truly brings out the sound of your instrument. It is very rigid which gives it a superior attack, so it plays through the strings so nicely. In comparison to all plastic risha, plastic risha are floppy and seem to get “stuck up” or “caught” on the string, but the cow horn risha slides off the string making your playing easier too.

Bull horn or cow horn is a natural material that is supposed to very stiff which creates an attack that some Oud players really like. It is supposed to mimic tortoise shell which is illegal in the United States at the moment.

Buy your cow horn risha here:

Zaza Cow horn risha – I haven’t tried these myself, but I love cow horn risha.

Cow horn risha by Arab Instruments – Another good source of cow horn risha for your arsenal.

 Check out my full review below:

Conclusion

Oud picks are definitely a matter of personal preference. So the bottom line is you must own a whole bunch of different ones and try them all!