A musical instrument with a large belly, 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 front part 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 isn’t a local Turkish instrument but it has been performed in Anatolia for at least five centuries. Besides, within the history, the oud has been performed 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 similar devices in miniatures and reliefs. The main reason why Farabi is perceived as an inventor is that he is a musician who has mastered the oud and the tuning system he brought to the oud. Farabi, who was a type of who gave the most complete information about the oud in his period, added the fifth string to the oud, which was a four-string instrument until that time. Concerning the oud, Ibn Sina (980/1037) from Farabi says in his book Kitabu’ş Şifa that it is among the most well-known instruments. Tells technical information corresponding to chords and pitches with figures. While musical instruments have been talked about in the Ikhwan-i Safa tracts within the tenth century, it was said that the most lovely of these was the oud.
The frets on the handle of the oud, preserved within the Farabi period, were abandoned towards the top of the 10th century. The oud was beforehand performed with a wooden plectrum. The famous Andalusian musician Ziryab (eleventh century) replaced it with a plectrum made of eagle feather. At present, plectrums made of versatile plastic are generally used.
The oud instrument made its way to Europe through Spain. Within the 13th century, the crusaders brought it back to Europe, and in time, it turned the lute. That’s why lute takes its name after the oud (‘le ut’ in old French), however it’s been added completely different features from oud, like frets.
The oud, additionally which became the center of attention within the Ottoman palace within the fifteenth century, gained an irreplaceable value that the general public began to make use of in classical Turkish music in the 19th century.
Oud instrument has a large soundbox connected to a brief neck. The instrument has a pear-formed body which is a deep, striped bowl made from lightweight wood. The wood ought to be light because the bowl is supposed to reverberate when it is struck. The soundboard, the front part of the body, comprises one or two, generally three sound holes. These sound holes could also be oval or they can be ornamented depending on the lands they are played on. There’s a piece of fish-skin or leather between the bridge and the sound hole with a view to protect the belly from the strokes of the plectrum. The bowl of the oud is shaped 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 material used in the making of the oudis important. The more the material is various, the better 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 normal measurement or number of strings. But basically, all of the types of ouds have eleven intestine strings which are organized in five double-programs with a sixth, single bass string. Oud is performed with a plectrum. Its fretless neck permits the instrument to generate any intervals or microtones particular to the Center Eastern music. Oud instrument is suitable for you to enjoy Turkish, Iran or Arab music by playing makams/maqamat.
Oudis performed according to two schools of performance. The first is “Ottoman” school and it accepts as precept 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 quantity is amplified by firm strokes of the plectrum, which makes strings resonate. This fashion requires one other kind of virtuosity.
There are essentially six types of oud when they are considered according to their origin. Those types of oud largely differ in their timbre and there are small size differences between them.
Arabic oud is probably the most known oud instrument type and possibly the most well-liked because of its romantic, rich and deep sound. It’s heavier and slightly bigger evaluating 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 plenty of overtones. Iraqi ouds may additionally be categorized under Arabic ouds. Its strings are tied to the bottom of the instrument. Because of this function, it is said that it has a floating bridge. Iranian oud, which can also be called Barbat is more distinct and attributable to its form, it has a bass, deep, Persian sound.
