A musical instrument with a large stomach, a short and curved handle, a beam and a plectrum. Its curved back is made of 19 or 21 boards within the shape of a circle. The body is hollow. In the middle of the entrance section called the chest, there are small cavities on the sides called “roses”.
Oud instrument (written as “ud” in Turkish) is the ancestor of the European lute, name of which derives from “al-ud”. It’s not a native Turkish instrument however it has been performed in Anatolia for no less than 5 centuries. Besides, in the history, the oud has been played by several civilizations in Central Asia, Mesopotamia, Iran, Arabia. Accordingly, there are several types of ouds besides Turkish oud. The oud instrument occupies a great place in Turkish Art Music, Turkish city music (in fasil orchestras) and in arabesk music. Oud has been known from the paperwork and oral tradition as the king, sultan or emir of musical instruments.
History of Oud
In some sources, it is said that Farabi invented the oud, but long before Farabi, there are oud and comparable devices in miniatures and reliefs. The main reason why Farabi is perceived as an inventor is that he’s a musician who has mastered the oud and the tuning system he dropped at the oud. Farabi, who was one of those who gave probably the most complete information concerning the oud in his period, added the fifth string to the oud, which was a 4-string instrument till that time. In regards to the oud, Ibn Sina (980/1037) from Farabi says in his book Kitabu’ş Şifa that it is likely one of the most famous instruments. Tells technical information reminiscent of chords and pitches with figures. While musical devices had been mentioned within the Ikhwan-i Safa tracts within the 10th century, it was acknowledged that probably the most stunning of these was the oud.
The frets on the handle of the oud, preserved in the Farabi interval, were abandoned towards the tip of the tenth century. The oud was beforehand performed with a wooden plectrum. The well-known Andalusian musician Ziryab (eleventh century) replaced it with a plectrum made of eagle feather. At present, plectrums made of flexible plastic are typically used.
The oud instrument made its way to Europe through Spain. Within the 13th century, the crusaders introduced it back to Europe, and in time, it became the lute. That’s why lute takes its name after the oud (‘le ut’ in old French), but it’s been added different options from oud, like frets.
The oud, additionally which grew to become the focal point in the Ottoman palace within the 15th century, gained an irreplaceable value that the public started to make use of in classical Turkish music within the nineteenth century.
Oud instrument has a big soundbox related to a short neck. The instrument has a pear-shaped body which is a deep, striped bowl made from lightweight wood. The wood should be light because the bowl is supposed to reverberate when it is struck. The soundboard, the entrance part of the body, contains one or two, sometimes three sound holes. These sound holes may be oval or they are often ornamented relying on the lands they’re played on. There is a piece of fish-skin or leather between the bridge and the sound hole in an effort to protect the stomach from the strokes of the plectrum. The bowl of the oud is formed by thin woods or ribs bent over a mold. The number of the ribs varies from sixteen to 21. The tuning pegs of the oud are screwed to the pegbox.
The quality of the fabric used in the making of the oudis important. The more the fabric is various, the higher it sounds. A high-quality oud’s face is made from spruce. The tuning pegs and fingerboard are constructed from ebony. Maple, walnut, palisander and mahogany are used for the bowl.
The oud doesn’t have any customary size or number of strings. But usually, all the types of ouds have 11 gut strings that are organized in 5 double-programs with a sixth, single bass string. Oud is played with a plectrum. Its fretless neck permits the instrument to generate any intervals or microtones particular to the Center Japanese music. Oud instrument is suitable so that you can enjoy Turkish, Iran or Arab music by playing makams/maqamat.
Oudis played according to 2 schools of performance. The first is “Ottoman” school and it accepts as principle the ornamentation of the sound, produced by delicate glissandos or the fingers and slight vibratos. The second approach is Egyptian approach, according to which the volume is amplified by firm strokes of the plectrum, which makes strings resonate. This model requires another kind of virtuosity.
There are essentially six types of oud when they are considered according to their origin. Those types of oud mostly differ in their timbre and there are small size differences between them.
Arabic oud is the most known oud instrument type and maybe the most popular because of its romantic, rich and deep sound. It is heavier and slightly bigger comparing to Turkish ouds. Turkish ouds are employed in Turkey and Greece. They’ve a more treble sound. Syrian oud, which is a sub-type of Arabic oud generates a lot of overtones. Iraqi ouds might also be classified under Arabic ouds. Its strings are tied to the underside of the instrument. Because of this characteristic, it is said that it has a floating bridge. Iranian oud, which can also be called Barbat is more distinct and due to its form, it has a bass, deep, Persian sound.
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