Origins of the Oud: It is believed the oud is to have celestial origins and was originally bestowed upon mortals. In the Arab world the oud is considered to be the greatest instrument of importance. The oud is also one of the few instruments accepted by the Islamic faith. It’s believed the oud has influenced the evolution of what we know in the West as the “Guitar” (that is widely debated though). Although agreed upon the oud is the principle origins of both the Chinese Pipa and European lute.
Anatomy: The oud is usually staved in its current form of construction, the staves are either glued together or attached by binding pieces (bamboo and ebony are features on my specimen for this fuction). Some have ebony fingerboards other do not. Most ouds are 11 stringed, though (in Egypt, Palestine, Syria) some are featured with 5 courses and employ their own tunings (see tuning chart). The sound board is often of two seperate pieces when during construction both pieces are alinged on a piece of paper, glue is applied then they are attached. The tuning pegs are almost of wood. There are brace pieces underneeth the soundboard to provide strength for the oud. Ornamentation is often added by the maker of the instrument. Most oud bridges are fixed and also the oud does feature a nut for the strings.
Regional variations (Types): The oud in Syria has lower pitched strings, and is wider in shape then par-say its Turkish counterpart. The Turkish model of oud has a shorter neck and slightly smaller body. The Iraqi oud is some what similar to the Syrian oud though has a movable bridge. This unique feature was added by oud virtuoso Munir Bachir. Barbat (Persian ouds) are smaller in size to their Turkish counter parts and have a higher timbre as well. The Egyptian ouds are set up with 5 courses (see oud tunings),
Characteristics of the oud: In the making of the oud for example the Turkish ouds have a smaller neck then their Arabic counterparts do. The standard for which the oud is currently strung is around 11 strings. The bodies of the oud nowadays are mostly staved. The oud is played with a plectrum commonly plastic or many use flexible guitar picks. Some ouds in particularly in Egypt are quite ornamental with all sorts of inlay; many other ouds throughout the Middle East are plain though both have their beauty. Some ouds have electric transducer pickups built in or available in kit form.