luan
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What tuning to use on this oud?
One student has this oud, but he doesn't know what tuning the oud was built for.
The scale is 63 cm.
Anybody has an idea of what would be a safe tuning for this oud?
Thanks!!
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Giorgioud
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The picture's a bit blurred, so it's not that clear, but it looks like that oud has a Standard Arabic tuning on it (cc, gg, DD, AA, FF, C). I say
Standard Arabic because the oud is obviously Arabic, possibly Syrian (?) (so it would be very unwise to put a Turkish tuning on it, as the added
tension would end up ungluing the bridge from the body).However, the DD course looks like it's just a single string as opposed to the usual two, but
that might be an optical trick caused by the lighting and/or the blurring.........it could also be tuned to its related tunings such as cc, gg, DD,
AA, GG C or cc, gg, DD, AA, GG, D, or even cc, gg, DD, BbBb, FF, C. Or even a half-step or a whole step lower, as many players used to do because of
the added resonance, but never higher because of the aforementioned problems......I am sure someone on this forum more knowledgeable than me can tell
you which make is this oud........
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luan
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Don't take in consideration the strings in the oud because they aren't in tune, they were put by someone who doesn't know how to tune it.
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Giorgioud
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Well, all things considered, then, if I were you I'd certainly avoid completely to get a Turkish tuning on it: your oud is simply not built to
whitstand such a tension, as the tuning is a whole step higher than its Arabic counterpart.
I'd get Standard Arabic:
(cc, gg, DD, AA, FF, C)* which can be tuned to its variants
(cc, gg, DD, BbBb, FF, C)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, EE, C)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, EE, B)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, EE, low D)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, EE, low A)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, GG, C)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, GG, D)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, low DD, low A)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, GG, low A)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, EE, low Ab)
(cc, gg, DD, AbAb, EbEb, low Ab)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, EE, low Bb)
(cc, gg, DD, BbBb, FF, low Bb)
Check the last four tunings (and some of the earlier ones: Sometimes, I find really good to tune the bass strings to an unorthodox key (such as Ab or
Bb, it makes certain taqsim sound really good, although it may lack the sympathetic resonance provided by the more orthodox keys).
*note the string in lower case are the thinnest, the ones in capital letters are wound in copper or bronze.
Basically, you can see that the top three course remain unchanged, the fourth course is changed only for types of tunings and all you need to change
for different tuning are the fifth course and the bottom C. A study of the different tunings and the harmonic possibilities they provide will be
impossible to avoid if you'll get seriously into the oud as I (and most of the folks on this forum) did. I'd put money that you already are. So it's
good to be aware of them and maybe just to have a bit of a play to see how they sound like.
Of course, we shouldn't forget the good old five-course tuning, beloved by so many giants (just a couple of names for all: Farid Al-Atrache and Abbady
Al-Johar), which is basically a Standard Arabic tuning with the low C removed. It goes under the name of Egyptian tuning. Some may call it also
Syrian, and it's not wrong as it has a long and noble tradition in Aleppo and Damascus, but I feel this tuning found its apogee with specifically
Egyptian players. Believe me, if you'll give it a go you'll be amazed at how beautiful and lyrical it can be. So it becomes:
(cc, gg, DD, AA, F) and its variants:
(cc, gg, DD, BbBb, F)
(cc, gg, EbEb, BbBb, F)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, E)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, G)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, low D)
(cc, gg, DD, CC, F)
(cc, gg, DD, CC, G)
(cc, gg, DD, GG, low D)
(cc, gg, DD, CC, low D)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, low C#)
(cc, gg, C#C#, AbAb, low C#)
(cc, gg, DD, AA, low Eb)
(cc, gg, EbEb, BbBb, low Eb)
Same thing as before, you'll see that the first three courses stay the same except for four types, and the fourth and fifth courses are the ones you
change. And as above, for the last two tunings, tuning the lowest bass strings in unorthodox keys such as C# or Eb could be a cool way to
experiment.......
This tuning is extremely versatile, despite being just five courses. I love it a lot. As for the lowest string (F, that can be tuned in E, G, D....you
get the idea..), some players like to use just one string http://youtu.be/BmiN32MKcXk while some others use the full course, two strings, like this gentleman http://youtu.be/gAgxQ0iXsjY
I have seen some players even removing one string on the fifth course (the AA) so as to have it single because it's easier to tune to another key in
certain taqsim and improvisations (for example if you are playing an impro in F and you want jump in a harmonic context which includes its relative
fourth Bb). Here's an example of the oud with the two single bass strings http://youtu.be/Kynw_Ox7-XI
If you get enamoured of Iraqi oud players (as I did), you might want to try also High Arabic tuning on it, it's well worth a try. It has a
crystalline, chiming sound which might remind you of some aspects of that wonderful zither-like percussive Arabic instrument, the qanun. Basically
it's a higher tuning, there's a high f course added and the low C is done away with.
The tuning is the following:
(ff, cc, gg, DD, AA, F) and its related variants:
(ff, cc, gg, DD, BbBb, F)
(ff, cc, gg, EbEb, BbBb, F)
(ff, cc, gg, DD, AA, E) This one they call it Lebanese tuning
(ff, cc, gg, DD, AA, G)
(ff, cc, gg, DD, CC, F) also known as Iraqi tuning
(ff, cc, gg, DD, CC, G) another variant of the Iraqi
(ff, cc, gg, DD, AA, low D) used in Algerian/Maghrebi songs
(ff, cc, gg, DD, GG, low D) another variant of the Algerian
(ff, cc, gg, DD,CC, low D) another variant of the Algerian
(ff, cc, gg, DD, AA, low C#)
(ff, cc, gg, C#C#, AbAb, low C#)
(ff, cc, gg, DD, AA, low Eb)
(ff, cc, gg, EbEb, BbBb, low Eb)
This time too, the low strings can be tuned to unorthodox keys such as C# or Eb, creating a lovely effect....
As per usual, the first four courses are unchanged except for once, and the fifth and sixth course are the ones you tune up according to the taqsim,
mood or song you play.
As far as the bottom string (the bass F) is concerned, some players (like Nasser Shamma) use a single one http://youtu.be/0wI-Px-CHpE , others (like Ahmed Fathi) sometime just the single one http://youtu.be/BaHMViIbUAk but I have also seen him play the double FF, while other players (like Awad Ahmodi) exclusively the couple http://youtu.be/OjgozomLcLs . And for the thinnest course, the high ff, the Yemeni players have, apart from having the single low F, the effective
habit of removing one f string, thus rendering the course single-stringed. This is done for two reasons: the single f, when played alongside the
normal other two-stringed courses, sounds really cutting and trebly, giving ther oud the qanun-like vibe I was telling you about, and the other reason
is just for lowering the action a bit: on some ouds the ff course ends up having a high action, and the single one becomes more manageable to play,
allowing the musician to play taqsim and glissandi more fluently http://youtu.be/hjYb8fZRgW4 .
For this tuning (the High Arabic), I would suggest you to get a low tension string set, such as Aquila, although if the action is pretty low, you
could at a push even put on a medium tension like La Bella Arabic set 80A. It's not advisable to put a high tension string set: too much pressure.
Alternatively, if there's not a full Aquila set handy, put a thin gauge set like Galli for Standard Arabic, throw away the bass bottom C and add an
Aquila ff single course at the top: it works really well and the ff gauge is compatible with the Galli set.
Well, I hope that covers it. Have fun!!!!
Giorgio
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fernandraynaud
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Way to go, Giorgio! Glad I'm not the only one to get carried away with a thorough post now and then!
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Giorgioud
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Much too kind Fernand......you know as much as me that when you get started, you just want to share the knowledge with other people, hoping that they
will check it out it as a short cut to avoid losing time....or, in my case, hundreds of pounds in string sets.......
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fernandraynaud
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I hope you realize it was a compliment.
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Giorgioud
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No worries Fernand, man, I knew, no problems. To be honest I took a leaf from your book in answering that post, as you're always willing to share your
(massive) knowledge, which makes your posts always a pleasure to read. If there's one single thing I have learned is all the different tunings (you
know, trial and error: you put on Standard, then decide to try High, decide "it's too weird", revert to Standard, get your curiosity pickled about
High, put in on again, you think "mmmhhh...nice....but the Standard has more bass", put the Standard back on and then you find out that all this
putting strings on and taking them off makes them untunable....and that's only the first week on your first and only oud!!! Then you decide: "I need
another oud! One tuned in Standard and one tuned in High!" Then you start taking strings off because "just want to try how the Egyptian sounds like!",
then eventually you have to get another oud for the Egyptian, or even better a floating bridge that you can tune in High so you can get the first oud
tuned to Egyptian and the second to Standard......and of course, I just know that "it would be nice to have another oud just tuned to Iraqi, without
having to tweak the strings all the times"........to cut a long story short, I think I should get out more, but how can I when there are those
wonderful ouds to be played????
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
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Thanks for the kind comments. Yes, the ghastly "studio tan" of the passionate tweakers is upon me too. I always wanted to have a studio where I live,
and a lab, and an electronics workshop. So, now I'm always here. I'm expecting the viola da gamba back from repairs in a few days, I've got my old
quad G5 mac back on-line (too handsome to retire), the new overclocked i7 turns out not to need liquid cooling after all, a new lab scale is on order
for the Noopept experiments, one of the Hitachi drives needs to be RMA'd, the string looper from Iran needs to be tried out with harpsichord strings,
old faithful Tascam FW1082 is working great w/ both Mac an PC ... and the Shehata sounds much better electric with a higher saddle. Get OUT more?
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Giorgioud
Oud Junkie
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No problem man, it was just the truth. Wow, congratulations for your set-up! Very impressive! Yeah, if I had the same arsenal at my disposal I
wouldn't care about the outside world (not that I care too much now, since I discovered the oud....).....
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Maasfoor
Oud Lover
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hey guys i recently bought my first oud (sukar model 1) and I have no idea how to tune it or what those letters mean and which tone is associated with
them. It would be great if you could tell me of a source that teaches all those basics.
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Bodhi
Oud Junkie
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Hey Maasfor,
Check here:
http://www.arabinstruments.com/112730/Online-Oud-Tuner
where it says "Type" keep it as "Arabic Tuning"
And where it says "Tuning Option" keep "Classic Tuning"
This should show as C F A D G C in those little gold boxes.
Thats the tuning I use and its very versatile. It is in the range of most string tensions (ex. Pyramid Orange or Daniel Mari) so it won't break
anything.
Enjoy your new Oud and the journey you are embarking on.
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Maasfoor
Oud Lover
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Thanks Bodhi. It feels like I had to loosen the strings a lot to match the sounds but its working fine
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Maan
Oud Lover
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Amazing post, going to try Iraqi tuning on my floating bridge electric Sukar which I just fitted with la bella high f string set. Studying Rast mainly
at the moment, have been playing since the summer. The journey so far has brought me to morocco and to some truly kind welcoming and humble but proud
syrian muscicians ♥
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