Mike's Oud Forums

New oud method with focus on makam basics

mavrothis - 3-14-2012 at 04:30 PM

Hello everyone,

A few years ago the folks at Mel Bay, through Ara Dinkjian's suggestion, asked me to put together an oud method for them, and since the length was very limited I decided to create a book focused mostly on the rudimentary practice of makam, with the majority of the pages dedicated to music, rather than heavy descriptions. I see that the book is now available on Amazon.com: School of Oud

For this book, which they have called School of Oud, I chose makams Rast, Mahur and Nikriz. For each of the exercises, etudes and traditional pieces found in its pages, there is a corresponding audio recording which you can use as a guide.

I hope that this book proves to be helpful for those wishing to make further progress on the oud, especially around the theory and practice of makam. And I also hope that you enjoy playing the etudes - I had a lot of fun writing them, and I have a feeling you will get a sense of my folk music background as you play through them.

The best way to learn a given makam's properties and 'personality' is by playing through a great deal of repertoire in that makam, not just in passing, but thoughtfully while analyzing how the makam is moving in different sections of a piece, and comparing one piece to another.

While I don't expect that my little book will teach you everything you could possibly learn about Rast, Mahur, Nikriz, or makams in general, I do believe that if you work through the material carefully, you will get a great introduction into the way of thinking and playing that will take you a very long way indeed. As far as you wish to go, really.

If you have any questions about the book, feel free to contact me directly, or post here if you think your question might be useful for others as well. Also, many thanks to our friend Eric Ederer for his feedback and guidance on the introductory/historical notes. And many thanks to Ara Dinkjian for setting the whole process in motion.


Thank you,

Mavrothi Kontanis





bpcNORD - 3-15-2012 at 12:42 PM

:applause:

I am so excited, I bought 2 books and I'll get them Friday!
Usually, I work on the different makams by working on a song.
I am looking forward to Mavrothis' insights to help me with the
theory and "personality" of the makams he has selected for his book.

CONGRATULATIONS!

MatthewW - 3-15-2012 at 01:52 PM

Συγχαρητήρια! Mav, are the maqams and recorded examples played in Turkish or Arabic tuning? best, MW

sylvainbd - 3-15-2012 at 11:55 PM

Hi

I downloaded "School of oud" tracks by the link written on his book in order to listen tuning. ( http://www.amazon.com/School-Oud-Mavrothi-T-Kontanis/dp/0786682957 and "click to look inside" ...)

Here :http://www.melbay.com/download.asp?ProductID=21910

It seems to be in Turkish tuning E A B E G D#
( it was false ;))

mavrothis - 3-16-2012 at 05:17 AM

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. I hope you enjoy the book.

For this book I used the tuning: E AA BB ee aa d'd'

The notation utilizes the Ottoman system, with an explanation of how it works. The audio recordings are in the key of D, since all three makams have their Tonic note on Rast note (and I am playing in Bolahenk tuning, where G=D).

I know that reading this type of score can be confusing at first if you are not familiar with it, but I believe it was the most efficient way of doing it since I want players who use my book to easily move on to the many Ottoman scores available online and in other reference/repertoire books.

As I said, if there are any questions, please just let me know. I'm happy to help.

Take care,

Mavrothi

abusin - 3-16-2012 at 06:46 AM


Well done Mav, your book great addition to the world of oud :applause:

Danielo - 3-16-2012 at 06:51 AM

Excellent idea !

This is exactly the kind of book that was lacking to understand the makam practice.

Do you provide written analyses of the different pieces ?

thanks Mavrothi,

Dan

mavrothis - 3-16-2012 at 07:34 AM

Thanks again guys.

The book is set up like this:


  1. General background on the oud and makam

  2. Basic oud posture, right hand, left hand etc (some familiarity with the oud is assumed)

  3. Some exercises to improve technique

  4. Basic makam theory info/descriptions/examples

  5. Rast makam intro - basic structure and movement, with an introductory exercise and some modulation examples found in one or more of the pieces

  6. Rast etudes plus several examples of traditional repertoire

  7. Mahur makam intro - basic structure and movement, with an introductory exercise and some modulation examples found in one or more of the pieces

  8. Mahur etudes plus several examples of traditional repertoire

  9. Nikriz makam intro - basic structure and movement, with an introductory exercise and some modulation examples found in one or more of the pieces

  10. Nikriz etudes plus several examples of traditional repertoire

  11. Rhythms (usul) page giving sample rhythms used throughout the book


The length of the book was a set number of pages from the outset, so I was not able to include a detailed description/analysis of each individual piece. However, I believe that the introductory page for each makam section does give a good overall description of how each makam moves, with common makam modulations listed with examples found within one or more pieces included in the book (with references specifying the piece and measures where the modulation can be found).

I hope this is helpful, and as I've said, I'm very happy to answer any questions.

Thank you,

Mavrothi