i heard a harp and bag-pipe duo just recently - not a paring i would readily make.
drums aside, what instrument would sound best, do you think, when played in accompaniment to the oud?
in middle-eastern and north african music, what instrument(s) is/are traditionally used by dual performers and trios to accompany the oud?
curious - billamtaha - 5-28-2006 at 08:55 PM
This needs a bit of a thought. Then again, I wouldn't know if there's such a thing as the "best" pairing.
But there are three instruments that, independently, would stand interesting (each by its own, accompanying the oud)
A wood xylophone, a muted trumpet and a didjeridu. (I had to look up the name of that last one - I believe it's an Australian aboriginal instrument.)sydney - 5-29-2006 at 12:21 AM
It actually depends on what sort of music it is - I know you mentioned where the music comes from but even middle-eastern and north african music
vary in types so some intruments may go well with the oud in some colours of music and not the others.
Nay and Violin are some of the best to go with the oud in some if not most maqams.billkilpatrick - 9-3-2006 at 01:41 AM
a friend of mine from the states plays the koto. she plays accompaniment on two tracks of the latest disc by this harp player:
she brought cd's from both for me listen to - one of which is her playing koto with harp.
the koto doesn't lend itself to international travel - especially now - so i can't say for certain how it and the oud would sound together but a koto,
oud and harp trio - east, mid-east and west ... geddit? - might compliment each other quite well.Microber - 9-3-2006 at 03:42 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by sydney
Nay and Violin are some of the best to go with the oud in some if not most maqams.
In Arabic music, there's generally a sense that you should pair dissimilar instruments. So oud (a plucked, percussive instrument) would go best with
violin or nay (sustaining, lyrical instruments). Viola and Cello also fall in this category of course. Saxophone or trumpet can work well, too.
Qanun and Buzuq can work, but are similar to the oud, rather than contrasting.
In western music, similar instruments are often grouped together (all brass, string quartet, 2 pianos, etc.), so this is a different aesthetic.SamirCanada - 9-3-2006 at 09:10 AM
Right on Brian...
verry well said, I come to think to many instruements that work well with oud. But one in particular...one of the family's friend plays acordeon with
microtone capability and when we play togheter the two instruments complement eachother really well. In the peices that feature a suden pause a little
solo oud in a percussive playing style just HUmmM!!! sends chills down my spine. And when there needs to be a longer sustained lamant the accordeon
fits right in and just picks your soul appart.
I could go on and on... about how I love this music and the tarab.
I dont think it can be explained in words honestly.
thanks for listening... please dont check me in a mental institute
Salam Samirbillkilpatrick - 9-3-2006 at 12:43 PM
yes! ... anouar brahem plays with an accordianist (and piano) on the "le pas du chat noir" album on the ecm label - probably the most non-arab oud
recordings i have.
what appeals about the instruments i mentioned - koto, oud and harp - is that all have a substantial bass and distinctive treble. i can listen to
solo oud without any difficulty (i would, wouldn't i) but harp and koto by themselves seem a bit dry - all three could be something special.
know any koto or harp players planning on visiting tuscany soon?lordsme - 9-3-2006 at 02:29 PM
Talking about medieval music played with the oud, today I just played with a guy who lives near my town that plays the bansuri (indian bamboo flute),
which is used very often in medieval music now.
I have to say: beatiful. We played a lot, using the gregorian modes, expecially in hypomixolidian, some phrases with B and some other with Bb. We used
the oud high G string as final and the D high string as the fourth under the final, switching the drone between these two. He used a Sa=G bansuri.
The glissandos of the bansuri and the percussive sound of the oud meets very well, I think. And the oud is also capable of imitate the glissandos of
the bansuri!
Yes, today has been a beatiful experience umut - 9-4-2006 at 02:11 PM
thinking about my past playing experiences i think clarinet also goes well with the oud. i have listened to haig manoukian on the oud accompanied by a
clarinet player and it was beautiful.
