The Beginning

This is an oud blog. What is an oud blog you might ask? I’m not sure. It’s an attempt to document my progress as a beginning oudist. It’s a way to share with other oud enthusiasts. It’s a way to hopefully stay inspired and explore some of the ideas I have for playing this beautiful instrument.

What is an oud?

It’s this:

It originated in ancient Mesopotamia and took on it’s modern shape in 9th century Arab-occupied Iraq. It can be heard throughout the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and North Africa. And it sounds RAD!

Why the oud?

I don’t know. I was drawn to the sound. My room mate had a Munir Bashir album that he liked to play and it piqued my interest. I liked the idea of a fretless guitar with doubled strings. I was also intrigued by the Arabic maqam system and its use of microtones. However, In some ways, learning the oud is an attempt for me to discover my cultural heritage. My great grandparents were Syrian and Lebanese. Unfortunately, I never knew them. I don’t speak Arabic but I have an Arabic last name. It means happiness.

Last year I got a job at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago where they teach oud in addition to many other instruments. One of the perks of the job is that I get discounted lessons. So I decided to go for it. I bought an oud and began my studies. It’s been a few months now and I’m feeling like I can almost call myself an udi.

My Goals Beyond

SO….This blog will hopefully help me keep track of my progress and allow me to connect with other fledgeling udi. Inspired by James Mahone’s Practice Portal, a great jazz saxophone blog, I want this blog to be a place where I can post transcriptions for others to study/compare/critique. I’ll also post oud related videos and recordings that I think are cool. Once I feel brave enough I’ll post some videos or recordings of me playing….maybe.

I’m focusing now on learning the classic Arabic repertoire and becoming familiar with the maqam system. I have a few simple pieces under my belt but I’m trying to focus on the melodically and rhythmically intricate Samais. I am trying to apply the phrasing and modulations I find in the Samais to my improvisations, also known as taqsims. I find the taqsim to be the most challenging aspect of the oud. A taqsim is a contemplative improvisation in which you “cut up” the maqam and explore it’s melodic contents. Every improviser is supposed to create a personal path or “sayr” through the maqam, hence the name of this blog.

In addition to the classic oud repertoire I am interested in exploring other styles on this instrument and playing anything that sounds cool on it. I learned an Ornette Coleman head the other day and it sounds great on the oud. His harmolodic concept, where the melody dictates the harmony, is very similar to Arabic music which is essentially melodically and rhythmically driven. So I have this crazy notion of doing some free jazz oud.

Also….I was lucky enough to catch the Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro at Old Town and I noticed that the Cuban tres is played a lot like an oud, with heavy downstrokes and a similar rhythmic flair. I’ve always been a big fan of Cuban son and I think an oud would fit right in with that style. So I’ve been listening to some of tres virtuoso Eliades Ochoa recordings trying to rip off licks.

I’ve put my guitar down for now and I’m putting all my musical efforts into playing the oud. I hope to mash up these disparate influences and styles and hit the streets of Chicago with a busking license to put some of these ideas into practice and to get my chops up. Possibly to get rotten tomatoes thrown at me.

In the meantime, enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRg8XngrQLU&feature=feedf

P.S. That’s not me