Bill - 10-23-2005 at 02:47 PM
I have recently discovered the world of oud music and would like to eventually learn to play. The styles that I like the most might be loosley
catagorized as "kef." The two players I have listened to the most are Marko Melkon and Richard Hagopian. There seems to be some overlap in their
repertoires which are mostly Armenian and Turkish. Am I right?
Does anyone know what kind of ouds they played, Turkish or Arabic? And what tunings they used? It's all so mysterious to me at this point.
Finally, are there any teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area that might teach these styles?
palestine48 - 10-23-2005 at 05:32 PM
Probably Hank Levin in San Rafael, thats all i know.
Good luck,
Rami
mavrothis - 10-23-2005 at 08:29 PM
Hi,
Marko Melkon actually used Arabic ouds mostly, though his playing style falls most under the Turkish/Anatolian playing. Hagopian uses Turkish style
ouds (built by Karibyan or Kyvelos).
Sorry, but I live on the East coast so I can't tell you exactly who to contact for lessons. I hope you find a teacher easily though, and enjoy
playing!
Take care,
mavrothis
Jonathan - 10-23-2005 at 08:34 PM
Most Armenian ud players, particularly those playing Kef music, are playing Turkish-style ouds. I can't think of any that are not. Hagopian,
Berberian, Minassian, Derderian, Bilezikjian, Bardezbanian--all of them. Most of them, but not all, use EABead tuning. Hagopian does use this
tuning.
Jonathan - 10-23-2005 at 08:37 PM
John Vartan, by the way, also made an instructional oud video that is worth picking up. It teaches the basics. Lark In The Morning sells it (http://www.larkinthemorning.com)
Andy - 10-24-2005 at 09:47 AM
According to Peter Kyvelos, Richard Hagopian plays Kyvelos' ouds however he may own other Turkish style ouds, Leo Derderian plays Merjanian ouds and
tunes it like Hagopian. The other's I can only guess that they play either Karibyan, Kyvelos, Najarian, etc but Turkish style. Marko Melkon, played
an Arabic oud made by Touffic Ajar from NYC, according to Saffet a knowledgable and frequent contributor on the Oud Home Page.
Bill - 10-24-2005 at 04:27 PM
Thanks for all the very helpful information from everyone. Is there an opinion on what tuning Markos used?
John Erlich - 10-24-2005 at 05:15 PM
Parev Bill,
The two best Armenian-style oud players in the SF Bay Area are probably Paul Ohanessian and Daniel Eshoo. Paul is Armenian-American and Daniel is
Assyrian-American and performs (mostly on kanoun) with Paul. (Hank Levin plays mosty classical Ottoman Turkish music, not Armenian Kef-style!)
You can e-mail me directly at shalomsalaam01@hotmail.com, and I will put you in touch with Daniel, who will also know how to contact Paul. I don't
know if Paul does any regular teaching, but he might be willing to get together and give you a few pointers.
Good luck,
John
SamirCanada - 10-24-2005 at 09:34 PM
Also I think John Belzikian could be a interesting source for that kind of information. I think he plays some kef too.
And he's a real nice guy.
Cheers