ilnokaly
Oud Maniac
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about my tuner
hi
on my tuner there are numbers from 435 to 440
So i would like to know what Does these numbers mean
and on witch number i must tune my oud
Thanx
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Luttgutt
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The chose is yours 
I tune mine at 442 (that means that the frequancy on the A string is 442).
Of course 440 is higher than 435.
Most players use 440 I guess.
The wood might be dead, but the oud is alive.
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Sazi
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If you don't have to play with fixed pitch instruments, such as nay, you can tune to whatever you like, in theory, but start with the default setting,
which would most likely be 440, and then your oud will let you know what it prefers, some sound better a little flat, like 435, others will prefer
higher... Tune your A strings using the 440 then try going up or down just a little bit, you might be able to hear it hit the sweet spot, where it
just sounds and feels right.
Personally, I don't use a tuner, I tune by ear, but on the odd occasion where I have used a tuner I found it better to just tune one string of the
pair with the tuner and tune the other to it by ear, I found that while the tuner tells me they are both the same, my ear tells me they're not!
Digital tuners tend to "jump"to the nearest step which depending on the resolution, is not always the true pitch.
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fernandraynaud
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Very important if you are playing with other people who are tuned to standard orchestra tuning, A=440 Hz. A lot of oud players tune how they feel
like, or how their voice fits, which makes it hard to even practice with their recordings.
I was playing with someone over the Internet, and I had to completely retune.
A=415 was common during the 17-18th centuries and sounds richer on strings. It's used nowadays for baroque music, and is conveniently almost exactly a
half step lower. You can even buy wind instruments tuned to 415. Maybe if we keep the variations to no more than two: 415 and 440, it would help
spread the oud, rather than "never know how that darned oud will be tuned"? It takes a while to tune 11 strings, if a group is to play together, it's
impractical to wait for the oud player to retune. The 440 standard is helpful.
A=440 Hz wasn't agreed on until mid 20th century, and there are big orchestras now pushing 442 or 445 to sound louder ! It seems part of a general
"more is better" trend, not my cup 'o tea.
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Sazi
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Just out of interest, not a single one of the many musicians of middle-eastern origin that I work with uses a tuner, they all tune by ear, and they
generally tune from a G.
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bibo10
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Sazi,
I am just confirming, so you are saying they tune the G first on whatever sounds right, then tune other courses by ear??
+++++++++++
Michael-GOD BLESS EGYPT
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Sazi
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Hi Michael, yes that is correct.
Though you may have an A on a standard Arabic tuned oud, many players of violin (Arabic style), joza, tar, setar, Iraqi oud etc don't have an open A
in their tuning, so it makes sense to tune from an open note common to all the instruments.
(You don't have to take my word on it, it has been noted before on the forum by others also).
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jdowning
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For information - A415 pitch has no historical basis as a pitch standard. It is a recent idea (1960's) adopted by the 'early music' fraternity for
convenience which - as fernandraynaud mentions - is a semitone below A440. In earlier times - 'baroque' period included - instrument pitches varied
widely.
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Sazi
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Very true, of all the many early tuning forks discovered and tested only one was actually 415!
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fernandraynaud
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I for one happen to think that music will continue to evolve with polyphony and harmony, and Arabic maqamat will find their way into new idioms.
Common and standard tuning is important. A western ensemble doesn't waste time on re-tuning instruments that might arrive on the gig tuned to a
completely different reference, so I'm all for 440. Set up, touch up, and play.
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bibo10
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haha Sazi,
i trust u haha...thank you
i ll try to practice that....i am fairly new to playing even though i ve been listening for a while, i try to practice tuning to my ear but its very
hard. what i try to do is tune one string using the tuner and tune the other one in the same course using my ear...not sure if its a good exercise but
it helps
+++++++++++
Michael-GOD BLESS EGYPT
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Sazi
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Quote: Originally posted by bibo10  | | what i try to do is tune one string using the tuner and tune the other one in the same course using my ear...not sure if its a good exercise but it
helps |
That's the best way to do it...
| Quote: Originally posted by Sazi | | tune one string of the pair with the tuner and tune the other to it by ear, I found that while the tuner tells me they are both the same, my ear tells
me they're not! Digital tuners tend to "jump"to the nearest step which depending on the resolution, is not always the true pitch.
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