OUD (Lut)
OUD - Is known as the Oriental guitar. It is the most popular for solo work during the 16th and
17th centuries. It was originally introduced by the Arabs into Spain and then the rest of Europe.
A short-necked, pear-shaped string instrument, it’s the ancestor of the European Lute. Lute and
Oud are even close in pronunciations. Sometimes the Oud is ornamented with mother-of-pearl; it is
traditionally made of the wood of a fruit tree, and plucked with an eagle feather. The feather has
been replaced by a plastic plectrum or a pick in modern bands. The neck of the oud, which is short
in comparison to the body, has no frets and this contributes to its unique sound. The most common
string combination is five pairs of strings tuned in unison and a single bass string, although up to
thirteen strings may be found.
There are five pairs of strings on an Oud, each pair tuned to the same pitch, and a single string
which is also the thickest. The most common way to tune the Oud is to tune each string a fourth
apart. There is an Arabic variant of this tuning where the intervals stay the same but the pitch of
each string is dropped down by a full step. Another distinctive feature of the oud is its head, with the
tuning pegs bent back at an angle to the neck.
The Oud "Known both from documentation and through oral tradition, it is considered the king, sultan
or emir of musical instruments”. It is the principal instrument of the Arab world, and is of secondary
importance in Turkey It also plays an important role in north African countries, such as Morocco,
Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Sudan. It is the traditional instrument of composers, singers, and
theorists. throughout the Middle East.
17th centuries. It was originally introduced by the Arabs into Spain and then the rest of Europe.
A short-necked, pear-shaped string instrument, it’s the ancestor of the European Lute. Lute and
Oud are even close in pronunciations. Sometimes the Oud is ornamented with mother-of-pearl; it is
traditionally made of the wood of a fruit tree, and plucked with an eagle feather. The feather has
been replaced by a plastic plectrum or a pick in modern bands. The neck of the oud, which is short
in comparison to the body, has no frets and this contributes to its unique sound. The most common
string combination is five pairs of strings tuned in unison and a single bass string, although up to
thirteen strings may be found.
There are five pairs of strings on an Oud, each pair tuned to the same pitch, and a single string
which is also the thickest. The most common way to tune the Oud is to tune each string a fourth
apart. There is an Arabic variant of this tuning where the intervals stay the same but the pitch of
each string is dropped down by a full step. Another distinctive feature of the oud is its head, with the
tuning pegs bent back at an angle to the neck.
The Oud "Known both from documentation and through oral tradition, it is considered the king, sultan
or emir of musical instruments”. It is the principal instrument of the Arab world, and is of secondary
importance in Turkey It also plays an important role in north African countries, such as Morocco,
Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Sudan. It is the traditional instrument of composers, singers, and
theorists. throughout the Middle East.
