For a Guitar player, playing the oud might seem easy. But is it so? Let’s find out. We have interviewed a few guitar players who’ve bought an oud. Here are the questions we’ve asked them. We have summed up the answers we have received.
2-in-1
Having played the guitar for some time gives you a head away in comparison to other beginner oud players. Your muscles on both right and left hands are more developed. Your brain ‘knows’ how to coordinate right and left hand, and to sync them correctly to get the desired notes. Also holding the oud is easy in comparison to complete oud beginners.
How does it feel to play the oud as a guitar player?
While both are stringed instruments and have 6 courses, there are few distinguished differences. The first is the fact that the oud is fretless. While the guitar is fully fretted, making it easy to know where to place your fingers, the oud – is not. This makes it a challenge to know where to press to hit the right tone. It also takes a good amount of practice to get used to a fretless neck. Oud players have mentioned a technique that helps with hitting the right tone. So here’s how it works:
While in guitar, you just place your finger and play, in the oud you should slightly slide to the tone. So if you want to play the note D, place your finger on C# and slide towards D. In this way, your ears and fingers will quickly adjust to find the correct tone. This technique will also improve your oud “feel” which is rather different from the stiff press on the guitar’s fingerboard.
Another challenge of playing the oud for a guitar player is the right-hand technique. There are many ways to hold a guitar pick, but none of them is even close to the right position of the oud pick. The guitar pick is traditionally held between the thumb and the index finger. The oud pick is as well held between the thumb and the finger, but the direction is different.
How do you hold the oud pick correctly?
First, in order to get the right feel of the oud, you must completely release your hand. Any tension will cause the pick to hit the strings too hard and will cause harsh-unpleasant sound. In the beginning, it is suggested just practice posing as if you have a pick and just lose your hand’s tension.
The next part is simply placing the pick between the thumb and the index finger. The pick’s direction should be the same as the thumb. Having the full weight of the thumb sitting on the pick gives some of the famous ‘heavy’ sound of the oud. Holding the pick too light, will result in thin-sounding oud. The ‘back side’ of the pick should bend slightly, but close the other finger.
How should the palm move? As you are blowing the BBQ
Yes. We know it sounds awkward, but it is like this. Imagine yourself standing in the garden and blowing the BBQ with a hand fan. Hold the pick firmly, but not too tight, and let the palm move up and down as you are painting with a brush, or hand blowing the BBQ. The arm shouldn’t move too much, but it shouldn’t be too stiff on the other side.
Is it difficult for guitar players to play the oud?
As you just read, there are some obstacles. However, all of the guitar players have said – at no time did they manage to play the oud. Within 1-2 weeks placing the fingers in the correct place was easy, and strumming the oud was a breeze. So as much as it seems that guitar player can’t play the oud, in fact, having played the guitar before gives you some serious advantages.
Learning to play the Oud
If you’re after a good learning program, or a recommended private teacher, we recommend Navid. Famous for his program “Oud for Guitarists”, Navid has it to take you from a complete beginner to an advanced player. He’s a knowledgable teacher, with experience in various playing style including Arabic, Turkish and more. Give him a go, and you won’t regret it!
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Multi-instrumentalist, oud lover and an expert in Arabic & Turkish musical instruments. Founder of Ethnic Musical, working with luthiers across Turkey, Armenia, and beyond since 2009 to make fine handmade Turkish & Arabic musical instruments.