doonyakka - 1-2-2011 at 11:17 AM
Hi all,
Does anyone know if Moroccan oud players use different tunings from the standard Arabic ones? I'm referring specifically to interpreters of Berber
songs from the High and Mid-Atlas.
Any info and/or tunings would be greatly appreciated 
Cheers,
doonyakka
charlie oud - 1-8-2011 at 07:44 AM
Welcome to the forum doonyakka 
I'm am not aware of different tunings for Berber songs.
Most Moroccans I've heard use one of the following:
Bass to treble:
F A d g c (5 course, not that common in Morocco)
G A d g c
F A d g c f (common)
G A d g c f (common)
D G A d g c (common)
D F A d g c (common)
C G A d g c (common)
C F A d g c (common)
G C d g c f
F C d g c f
The last 2 are not used by many but quite common in Iraq and I've heard they are used in other countries. All the others above are found throughout
the oud playing world. If I've missed any perhaps others will add them.
doonyakka - 1-8-2011 at 09:28 AM
Thanks Charlie, that's just what I was looking for!
charlie oud - 1-10-2011 at 09:13 AM
You're welcome. I dont know how familiar you are with oud stringing so feel I should add that if you use any tuning which requires the higher 'f' then
this is usually a seperately sold string, its much thinner than the the standard 'c' so dont try tune a 'c' up to an 'f' as it will break and could
damage the bridge in the process. Good luck.
doonyakka - 1-10-2011 at 01:03 PM
I'm an oud newbie (I bought my first one two weeks ago), so I've only tried a couple of those tunings. Thanks for the tip about the top f!