Description: The
oud is widely spread throughout the Middle East to Persia under the
name barbat and then to North Africa, the Balkans this includes Greece
(outi) and Bulgaria. In other directions the oud migrated eastwards to
Malaysia and Indonesia the oud is sometimes referred to as a "Gambus"
although the name gambus applies to a separate lute. Through another
parallel journey the oud migrated to China under the name pipa and in
Japan under the name Biwa who are’ both off-shoots of the oud. The oud
migrated’ westward Morocco to Andalusia Spain the oud was called
"al-ud" which evolved to the word we know as "lute". The oud is very
popular from Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria to Morocco and in Somalia where
the oud is called Kaban who only has 4 strings. In Persian
classical music the barbat is one of the major instruments.
Anatomy of the Oud: The
oud varies in shape and size depending on the regions of where the
instrument is from. In many Arabic countries, Egypt, Jordan, Syria,
Iraq the oud has a wider body and slightly longer neck having 6 courses
of strings. In Turkey and Iran the oud is smaller in size and the Greek
outi is directly influenced from a luthier in Turkey who once lived in
Constantinople (Istanbul) the end result is a shorter neck in length
and a slightly smaller body. Originally oud makers would lay the
soundboard on top of a flat piece of paper and join the two sides
together. The body is then constructed in singular staves over a jig
and then affixed to the sound board creating the chamber. The
fingerboard, bridge, nut and saddle are created last. Many materials
are used for the nut ranging from bone to plastics. For the bridge most
ouds have a “fixed” bridge. The tuning pegs are of the wooden manual
friction type they are made in a similar to a violin’s set of tuning
pegs. In Iraq ouds may have up to 13 strings this is largely due to
Munir Bachir who is accredited for making these alterations.
| Arabic | G-A-D-g-c-f |
| Arabic (Standard) | D-G-A-d-g-c |
| Arabic (Alternate) | C-F-A-d-g-c |
| Arabic (5 course) | A-B-E-a-d'-g |
| Syria (6 course) | C-E-A-d-g-c |
| Egyptian (6 course) | F-A-D-g-c |
| Egyptian (6 course) | G-A-D-g-c |
| Egyptian (6 course) | E-A-D-g-c |
| Munir Bachir (Iraq) | C-D-G-c-ff |
| Munir Bachir (Iraq) | F-A-D-g-c-f |
| Munir Bachir (Iraq) | F-C-D-g-c-f |
| Turkish (old classical) | A-D-E-a-d-g |
| Turkish (new classical) | F#-B-E-a-d-g |
| Turkish / Armenian | E-A-B-e-a-d |
| Turkish / Armenian | C# -F#-B-e-a-d |
| Standard Cumbus | D-E-A-d-g-c |