norumba
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-15-2003
Location: Taos
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questions re Turkish tunings and available string sets
Hi all,
I've been enjoying my Sabsaby 7 course floating bridge oud he made for me last year.... it had been many years without an acoustic oud,! and Brian
Punka, the set we came up with is pretty perfect, thank you.
ive been incorporating more Turkish techniques into my playing style lately, and came across a Temel Sehit oud that needs a little work for a very
good price., so I snagged it and its on its way.
Im seeing there are variety of Turkish tunings in use, usually C# F# B e a d, E A B e a d, or D G B e a d.
I'm curious if any one of these is more prevalent or preferred these days over any others. It seems the third tuning would be the most natural
transition for me , as it would be the lower 6 of my 7 course, but up a whole tone.
the other question for me is what string sets are best suited for the D G B tuning. The Daddario J95 and one of the MusiCaravan sets are rated for
the C# tuning, but not sure of their actual tensions, so I'm wondering if either of these sets are loose enough to take the two lower courses up a
1/2 step and still have reasonable balance without too much stress on the oud?
The other Musicaravan set is for the E A... tuning, so I'd be taking the low courses down a whole step. Too floppy?
LaBella lists their set as G A B ead, Ive never heard of a low G, i assume its a misprint.
Thoughts?
Ultimately Id like to also get a 7 course Turkish oud. I've seen online some by Yildirim Palabiyik and Mehmet Caymaz. I'll be interested to research
these makers further. Ill be curious to learn if theyre taking the 7 course Arabic tuning up a whole step or keeping it C- f'.
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ChanningPDX
Oud Maniac
Posts: 96
Registered: 10-15-2016
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I currently have my Turkish oud tuned DABead with Özten medium tension PVF strings on the top two courses and LaBella strings on the bottom four. I
sometimes tune the bass string up to E if I'm playing a bunch in uşşak or hüseyni, but usually keep it tuned to D. Personally, I really
like having the second and fifth courses in octaves, but I know that's not everyone's preference.
Up until a couple of months ago, I had my Turkish oud tuned BF#Bead, and I will likely return to this tuning the next time I change my strings, as I
really miss playing things in kiz tuning (i.e., basically taking a tune down a string). While I really like having a D drone for playing in rast,
etc., I really miss the sound of that low B, and I have my Arabic oud tuned C/DGAdgc anyway. While there are arguably good reasons for using the
modern Turkish tuning all in fourths, I never found much use for the bass string tuned to C# beyond playing exercises, so I tuned it down to B and
just left it there.
Someday, I'd love to have ANOTHER Turkish oud so that I can have one in "old" Turkish (or Armenian) D/EABead tuning and one in "modern" BF#Bead, but
given other expenses in my life, that's probably a long ways off.
As for strings, I'm still very much a novice player, but I really like the German (not Turkish) Kürschner string sets for Turkish oud. I wasn't fond
of the Musicaravan Necati Celik strings--the trebles seemed a tad too light and the bass too heavy on my oud, but horses for courses... I recently got
some of the new(ish) Aquila super nylgut treble strings, which I plan to try soon. Anyone else using these?
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norumba
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-15-2003
Location: Taos
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Hi,
Thats helpful info thanks!... Ill look into that combo ; combo...whats a good source for the Özten trebles?
I used to use Aquilas but they are changing formulations so quick these days I can hardly keep up. They had a very strange red 3rd course recently
that felt weird and broke immediately, but I liked their red upper trebled for a while. But I've lost confidence in their consistency.
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kokomal
Oud Admirer
Posts: 8
Registered: 5-8-2020
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thanks for posting.. I have some of these same questions.. I have played guitar
for several years and have been wanting to buy an oud. I am looking for
instructor in cleveland/akron area (ohio) but seems like most people use arabic tuning,
not turkish, so this may be a challenge. I am going to be playing armenian music,
so think EABead tuning may be best for me (??).
I am corresponding with a turkish luthier who seems very reasonable.
Finally was able to login to this site as of today and have been reading some of the threads for advice.
I have attached his (luthier) link if anyone is interested in checking out his stuff.
He seems to have some nice ouds.. but I am a novice to all this.
instagram
https://www.instagram.com/oudmaker_barisyekta/
youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRiN2pmM6DQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bht8kdpn1I
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Eric Stern Music
Oud Maniac
Posts: 89
Registered: 7-15-2013
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The one useful thing about playing in all fourths is its utility if you are playing with someone for the first time in a one-off situation, or if you
play with a singer who changes pitch over the course of time. I'll explain what I mean:
The first situation happens when I get thrown into a gig and the person I'm playing with plays the song a step higher or lower or a fourth away or
whatever. This doesn't usually happen with Arabic music or Turkish but definitely with Ladino music. It's much easier, with all the strings tuned in
fourths to hop down a course or up and there's a chance that where my fingers go in the song will be the same just a course down. If I leave my ud how
it usually is (on my Turkish ud the interval of the two lowest courses are a third apart, Arabic a fourth apart) I CAN adjust but it takes a
split-second more.
The other situation, that may be somewhat unique, is that I play oud for my synagogue. The rabbi will generally sing things in the same key, but over
the course of a year will sometimes be sick, thus her voice changes, or just decide that she wants to try a different key, and over long term her
voice has changed as she ages. So, it's an admittedly unique situation, but both instances are the opposite of where one is rehearsing a set piece,
then performing. Normally I'd have my Arabic oud tuned CFadgc, because generally even if I am sitting-in, on say a belly dance gig, the repertoire is
*usually* in standard keys/maqams but for synagogue it's fourths all the way because it's just me and one singer.
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norumba
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-15-2003
Location: Taos
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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yeah i can see the versatility in those sitiuations, for sure. i do some ad- hoc accompanying as well. Theres a singer here that i work with and we
dont rehearse - on the gig she tells me the key and a couple of the chords in the progression, and we go.Each song, like this. i could see the
flexibility of an all fourths set up for that.
but then again the keys she uses will work in either the Arabic or the traditional Turkish tuning, so it may not be necessary.
I'l ll start a more specific thread on the strings and leave this for the tunings, as its pretty interesting to learn the pros and cons and others
experiences.
i did mess briefly with an all 4ths tuning on guitar ( Robert Fripp was using that for a while) but didnt find it worked for me - but that was in a
guitar context.
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