Mike's Oud Forums

Risha Technique

LeeVaris - 1-16-2004 at 01:44 PM

Hi all,

I have a question about risha technique for all you experts out there.

I was watching the Marcel Khalifé DVD the other day and I noticed that he plays with the risha held with the end coming out between the 3rd and 4th fingers. I'm wondering how common this is. Are there advantages/disadvantages to this approach vs letting the risha rest across the inside of the fingers? I've tried it both ways but I'm such a beginner that I'm not sure I can appreciate the subtleties.

Any insights on technique would be greatly appreciated. Is the holding/plucking technique different for quill rishas? etc...

nadir - 1-16-2004 at 01:50 PM

i believe that holding the pick on the outside of your last two fingers is the traditional egyptian way of playing. with the pick coming out on the last finger is the traditional iraqi style and with the pick totally covered, it would be about standard. i think that a disadvantage to holding the pick on the outside of your fingers is that you are able to move faster with the whole pick in your hand (or so i have experienced this with).

good luck with your starting weeks of the oud, rock on! :xtreme:

samzayed - 1-16-2004 at 05:19 PM

Quote:
i think that a disadvantage to holding the pick on the outside of your fingers is that you are able to move faster with the whole pick in your hand


How does it make your hand faster when the end of the risha is sticking out behind your pinky or ring finger? Also, why is that a disadvantage? I find this topic very interesting. . :)

Marcel's Risha

LeeVaris - 1-16-2004 at 06:36 PM

I've been experimenting with this risha technique and examining the DVD footage that shows Marcel's right hand. It seems to afford a more relaxed wrist position - you don't need to bend the wrist towards the face of the oud as much. Looking at the closeups you can see that he keeps his hand very, very loose... barely gripping the risha. It also looks like he sometimes flicks his pinky a bit, possibly to leverage the risha attach. I can also see him use his thumb to pluck the bass string from time to time. Very unusual - different from everybody else that I've seen.

When I play with this I find myself rotating the hand with the back of the knuckles up and executing tremolos with a straighter wrist through this rotation movement. You have to sort of "float" off the strings rather than press into them. Kind of tricky but I find that it facilitates rapid tremolos. On the other hand it seems harder to play closer to the bridge... my hand keeps wanting to move towards the sound hole.

Anyone else out there play with this risha position?