DD
Oud Maniac
Posts: 91
Registered: 8-31-2005
Location: The same as yours, my friend.
Member Is Offline
Mood: one mirror reflecting another
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New Member, New Oud Player, New Oud
Greetings All!
My new oud arrived this morning from the Nile Shop. Never before have I enjoyed a transaction as I enjoyed the one I had with Yehia during these past
few days—and I do mean "few": He shipped the oud on Monday, and the package was leaning against our door when I came down for breakfast this morning
Wednesday! Direct from Cairo in less time than it takes to get a package here from California.
When I introduced myself and described my situation to Yehia last week, he suggested I choose from among a few ouds he had which were in between the
eBay and the Shehata ouds in quality and price. These few ouds were distinct from the eBay-listed ones in that they were made of walnut, and they had
one-piece finger boards that were not flush with the face. After I spend a year or so with this oud, I'll be in a good position to custom-order one of
higher quality (I guess it takes playing the oud to know the oud you want to play!), and I will have this one to take places that I wouldn't take the
more delicate and expensive instrument.
Gawharet El Fan is the maker of my magnificent (magnificent to me, anyway) new oud. The tone and the action are lovely, considerably better than I
expected them to be. I really couldn't be happier with it.
BTW, I live a long way from nowhere, far far from the nearest oud teacher—or player, for that matter—and I'm going to have some questions for you
guys in the coming weeks as I teach myself to play this wonderful thing (of course, I have a couple of questions now, but I don't want to wear out my
welcome by talking too much). I've learned so much from you already, for which I'm very grateful. A great big collective thank you to all of you. From
now on, you'll know I'm there!
You know, I can't sign off without exclaiming again about Yehia: not only an honest businessman but, you might say, a real person, genuinely concerned
for the mutual good of both sides of the transaction and of the whole. Wonderful!
Back again soon, my very best to all of you,
Don
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syrianoud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 631
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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A very warm Welcome to Mike's Forums. And How to learn to play the Oud, I am a starter too , and i learned a lot here in the forums, You just have
to read a lot,Go to search and type what you looking for and that will get you to the point.
As per Yehea....He is a very very fine person ,I admire him ,I just bought from him a Shehata Oud and 4 gig bags and some strings. This person Yehea I
can Guarantee all the money i have that i can trust him ,he is a very honest person .He will not rune his riputation for money .I spoke to Yeahea
several time he calls me from Egypt and gives me an advice ,And I trust him. I like to read good things about him ,Makes me happy to see honest people
and make MIKE's Forums and cleanest place on the net ,with all of us as brothers no matter what is our religion.
GONGRATULATION with your new OUD hope that you will enjoy it .and think of that honest MAN YEHEA. Fi Shahet Elsayed Yehea and hope that LORD(ALLAH)
will bless him and bless Maurice Shehata .He is another super honest clean person who i admire and trust .If I order anything and he syas $1 or
10.000.00 I say ok he will give mre the best product and quality. It is hard these days to find people that are honest specialy you are buying online
,buying a picture .soon I will have 5 Brands new Shahata Ouds...The quality is there for life...
Welcome to the forums and God Bless. Best Regards ...Samir , California
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palestine48
Oud Junkie
Posts: 448
Registered: 6-9-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Free Palestine
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I bought a gawharet el fan from yehia and I agree with you it is a good oud for the price. the shipping cost is what bites tho but they sound good
and my uncle who is a pro musician likes it very much. ya spend some time learning and when u get beter get a better oud. but with this one dont
feel afraid to do some damage to it. thats what a begginer is for. but some markings for fingerings if u need to. i use painters tape which wont do
much damage and do whatever it takes to learn. and it shows honest business is what makes a person succesful.
good luck,
rami
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Don,
Congratulations! You'll be hooked. You'd be surprised where there are oud teachers. Let us know where you are and maybe someone knows of someone.
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akram
Oud Junkie
Posts: 372
Registered: 3-29-2005
Location: fassuta
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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welcome DD
i hope you will enjoy the forum
if you can past picture of your oud's.
akram
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syrianoud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 631
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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DON if you need in the LA area there are some good teachers..If you need any phone #'s let us know,To learn by yourself it is pretty hard,I have tons
of books reading but learning how to play is compleatly deferent.I though at first i will learn on my own,went ans start ordering DVD'd books
Etc...And they all sitting on my shelves collecting dust.....Nedd hel we all here to help...Best regards ,Samir,Ca
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DD
Oud Maniac
Posts: 91
Registered: 8-31-2005
Location: The same as yours, my friend.
Member Is Offline
Mood: one mirror reflecting another
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My heart overflows, Samir, Rami, Jameel, Akram, you have all made this forum feel like home. Thank you.
Your warm and welcoming words, Samir, were very encouraging. I am studying just as you have described at the forum and also elsewhere on the
internet—though as you also advised later, self-teaching can be pretty tricky. I plan to buy the basic Oud Tutor by Elias, and I think that there
are some video tutors also—but probably you know about those and they are some of the dusty "ornaments" on your bookshelf ;-) Thank you for your
offer regarding good teachers in LA. While I was born and raised in LA, now I'm afraid I live about 2000 miles from those good teachers! Again, I
appreciate it.
I'm glad to hear, Rami, about your uncle's opinion of your Gawharet El Fan oud, and I'm glad for your perspective on playing a beginner's oud. Thank
you for passing those things along.
I appreciate that, Jameel. Probably there is an oud teacher about 2 hours' driving distance from here, because I am that close to both Columbia and
Kansas City in Missouri. The two problems with my traveling that distance at this season, other than the four-hour commute, are the price of gasoline
and the delicate condition of my "vintage" 22-year-old car! Still, it would be very good to know of someone in or near one of those places, even for
the sake of a rare visit now and then; I'm grateful you brought it up.
Yes, Akram, I was thinking that even though my digital camera quit on me a while ago (the humidity here, I think), I could include the photos that
Yehia sent to me:
Hmm! I just tried to do that: I made a JPEG, clicked "Choose File" from the forum page and selected it, but all I get when I preview the post is a
question mark where the photo should be. It appears that I need a photo-attachment tutor as well as an oud tutor! Might someone be able to give me a
pointer or two? (I'll try it again, just to be sure, in case it simply doesn't show up in Preview Post but does show up on the forum.)
Till next time, all the best to all,
Don
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syrianoud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 631
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DD
My heart overflows, Samir, Rami, Jameel, Akram, you have all made this forum feel like home. Thank you.
Your warm and welcoming words, Samir, were very encouraging. I am studying just as you have described at the forum and also elsewhere on the
internet—though as you also advised later, self-teaching can be pretty tricky. I plan to buy the basic Oud Tutor by Elias, and I think that there
are some video tutors also—but probably you know about those and they are some of the dusty "ornaments" on your bookshelf ;-) Thank you for your
offer regarding good teachers in LA. While I was born and raised in LA, now I'm afraid I live about 2000 miles from those good teachers! Again, I
appreciate it.
I'm glad to hear, Rami, about your uncle's opinion of your Gawharet El Fan oud, and I'm glad for your perspective on playing a beginner's oud. Thank
you for passing those things along.
I appreciate that, Jameel. Probably there is an oud teacher about 2 hours' driving distance from here, because I am that close to both Columbia and
Kansas City in Missouri. The two problems with my traveling that distance at this season, other than the four-hour commute, are the price of gasoline
and the delicate condition of my "vintage" 22-year-old car! Still, it would be very good to know of someone in or near one of those places, even for
the sake of a rare visit now and then; I'm grateful you brought it up.
Yes, Akram, I was thinking that even though my digital camera quit on me a while ago (the humidity here, I think), I could include the photos that
Yehia sent to me:
Hmm! I just tried to do that: I made a JPEG, clicked "Choose File" from the forum page and selected it, but all I get when I preview the post is a
question mark where the photo should be. It appears that I need a photo-attachment tutor as well as an oud tutor! Might someone be able to give me a
pointer or two? (I'll try it again, just to be sure, in case it simply doesn't show up in Preview Post but does show up on the forum.)
Till next time, all the best to all,
DD The Elias book for me did not do anything ,I bought it for 20 dollars and it wont teach you anything , I thought it was for biginners and it is not
,Ellias was thinking about who knows what when he put that book together ,I read that book a few times and nothing...If you like try it but your money
is going down the drian like mine did.It is not a lot of money but why when it doesnt teach you anything. Best regards...Samir
Don |
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DD
Oud Maniac
Posts: 91
Registered: 8-31-2005
Location: The same as yours, my friend.
Member Is Offline
Mood: one mirror reflecting another
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PDF Photo
It looks like the photo attached, but it isn't clear. I'll attach it in PDF and see if that's better.
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syrianoud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 631
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DD
It looks like the photo attached, but it isn't clear. I'll attach it in PDF and see if that's better. |
Congratulations very nice oud ,I dont think that Yehea will sell anything but good like Shehata and his other line , where it ischeaper but still a
decent oud. Enjoy it and the pics looks great......Samir,Ca
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DD
Oud Maniac
Posts: 91
Registered: 8-31-2005
Location: The same as yours, my friend.
Member Is Offline
Mood: one mirror reflecting another
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| Quote: | | Congratulations very nice oud ,I dont think that Yehea will sell anything but good like Shehata and his other line , where it ischeaper but still a
decent oud. Enjoy it and the pics looks great......Samir,Ca |
Thank you Samir, I'm glad you like it!
I was just wondering: Would you and maybe others like to recommend recordings of oud music that are what you might call "must-haves"? There is so much
to choose from; without being able to hear it all first, I barely know where to start—though I have certainly started!
So far I am collecting all of Hamza El Din's recordings (I try to get LPs when I can), and I just found a possibly-low-priced 'Art of the Oud' CD by
Munir Bashir on eBay, and also 2 LPs by John Bilezikjian, one with that same title, 'Art of the Oud,' and the other called 'John Bilezikjian,
America's Oud Virtuoso'; also I'm considering one by Anouar Brahem called 'Barzakh.' Do you think that I'm doing OK so far? And what would you
recommend?
Maybe you would prefer to know something about my musical background first:
(NOTE: I just came back up to this line after writing the ones below it, and I'm sure that I talked too much! So if you're not in the mood for this
sort of thing, just skim or skip the following paragraphs! Sorry. I guess it's probably best that I leave those comments below in case there is
someone who feels like reading them. What a windbag I can be!)
Music has always been a precious and natural part of my life. I started to sing before I started to talk as an infant, and my key musical instrument
has always been my voice, but I have studied and played a number of instruments in my life. I played guitar from the age of 10 to about 20. I studied
with 5 different teachers over the years in different genres and I accompanied myself singing, but after about 10 years I felt that I had finished
with that instrument, both in listening and in playing. My heart just wasn't in it. I let all of my guitars go to good homes.
(You want to know something funny: There was one guitarist in those early years whose music really moved me. His name was Sandy Bull. I remember lying
on my bedroom floor when I was 12 years old and being almost in bliss listening to an old LP of his that my sister gave me. And here's the funny part:
I found out recently that the main influence behind the music of his that I liked the most was—Hamza El Din! Apparently he stayed at Sandy Bull's
home for some time during the 1960s and was a powerful influence on his musical perspective. I heard of this only about a month ago, and it was then
that I remembered where I'd first seen a picture of an oud, as well as the word, "oud": It was on the cover of that old LP that my sister gave me! So
it turns out that not only was my favorite guitar player's music profoundly influenced by a great oud player, but also some of that "guitar" music was
actually oud music!)
I haven't gone much for keyboard music or keyboard instruments because of how confining they tend to be inside of their fixed, often-equal-tempered
pitch. I have loved playing and listening to a number of woodwinds, though, and one of those especially that I have worked with and loved has been the
bamboo flute. It lets you "bend" and shape the notes nicely. I have a special one that was made for me from an especially thick and hard type of
bamboo, and unlike most flutes, this one's scale is NOT according to Equal Temperament like a piano, but rather according to Just Temperament. So the
thirds and fifths are perfect intervals.
Having studied Indian music, voice and flute, for some years, I'm acquainted with raga and alap, and the concepts of maqam and taqsim are deeply
familiar to me—but that is not simply because I studied raga and alap in the context of Indian music; it is because my heart and soul resonate with
those harmonies that the concepts of maqam and taqsim express.
Thank you for sitting through all of that! I hope it might have been of some help and/or interest and not too boring. Again, I would love to hear
anyone's comments on what they consider to be essential oud recordings.
Warm regards,
Don
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syrianoud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 631
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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| Quote: | | Quote: | Originally posted by DD
Congratulations very nice oud ,I dont think that Yehea will sell anything but good like Shehata and his other line , where it ischeaper but still a
decent oud. Enjoy it and the pics looks great......Samir,Ca |
Thank you Samir, I'm glad you like it!
I was just wondering: Would you and maybe others like to recommend recordings of oud music that are what you might call "must-haves"? There is so much
to choose from; without being able to hear it all first, I barely know where to start—though I have certainly started!
So far I am collecting all of Hamza El Din's recordings (I try to get LPs when I can), and I just found a possibly-low-priced 'Art of the Oud' CD by
Munir Bashir on eBay, and also 2 LPs by John Bilezikjian, one with that same title, 'Art of the Oud,' and the other called 'John Bilezikjian,
America's Oud Virtuoso'; also I'm considering one by Anouar Brahem called 'Barzakh.' Do you think that I'm doing OK so far? And what would you
recommend?
Maybe you would prefer to know something about my musical background first:
(NOTE: I just came back up to this line after writing the ones below it, and I'm sure that I talked too much! So if you're not in the mood for this
sort of thing, just skim or skip the following paragraphs! Sorry. I guess it's probably best that I leave those comments below in case there is
someone who feels like reading them. What a windbag I can be!)
Music has always been a precious and natural part of my life. I started to sing before I started to talk as an infant, and my key musical instrument
has always been my voice, but I have studied and played a number of instruments in my life. I played guitar from the age of 10 to about 20. I studied
with 5 different teachers over the years in different genres and I accompanied myself singing, but after about 10 years I felt that I had finished
with that instrument, both in listening and in playing. My heart just wasn't in it. I let all of my guitars go to good homes.
(You want to know something funny: There was one guitarist in those early years whose music really moved me. His name was Sandy Bull. I remember lying
on my bedroom floor when I was 12 years old and being almost in bliss listening to an old LP of his that my sister gave me. And here's the funny part:
I found out recently that the main influence behind the music of his that I liked the most was—Hamza El Din! Apparently he stayed at Sandy Bull's
home for some time during the 1960s and was a powerful influence on his musical perspective. I heard of this only about a month ago, and it was then
that I remembered where I'd first seen a picture of an oud, as well as the word, "oud": It was on the cover of that old LP that my sister gave me! So
it turns out that not only was my favorite guitar player's music profoundly influenced by a great oud player, but also some of that "guitar" music was
actually oud music!)
I haven't gone much for keyboard music or keyboard instruments because of how confining they tend to be inside of their fixed, often-equal-tempered
pitch. I have loved playing and listening to a number of woodwinds, though, and one of those especially that I have worked with and loved has been the
bamboo flute. It lets you "bend" and shape the notes nicely. I have a special one that was made for me from an especially thick and hard type of
bamboo, and unlike most flutes, this one's scale is NOT according to Equal Temperament like a piano, but rather according to Just Temperament. So the
thirds and fifths are perfect intervals.
Having studied Indian music, voice and flute, for some years, I'm acquainted with raga and alap, and the concepts of maqam and taqsim are deeply
familiar to me—but that is not simply because I studied raga and alap in the context of Indian music; it is because my heart and soul resonate with
those harmonies that the concepts of maqam and taqsim express.
Thank you for sitting through all of that! I hope it might have been of some help and/or interest and not too boring. Again, I would love to hear
anyone's comments on what they consider to be essential oud recordings.
Warm regards,
Don |
Hi Don very nice to hear from you , I am a starter as I told you , and i have spend Thousands of Dollars on real expensive instruments like KORG
OASYS88 Key ,Guitars by Cordoba,And very excpensive top of the line Ouds.Plus I have bought at least 40 CD's Taqaseem Oud only and some Kanoun. I am
taking lessons my a great musician his name is Wael Kakish he is in Pasadena,Ca . And I am real happy , Looks like that in no time I will pick a lot.
since I do not work and kill much of my time at home practicing on mu Ouds, I let my Guitars and Piano lessons wait till I finish with my Oud
studies.
What I sugest go to many sites of famous Oud playes and read. I just ordered from DR.OUD his book how to built a Oud.I got it just for the knowlwdge
,I will not built one,Dr. Oud is very good at that,He can tell you from A TO Z and he knows what he is talking about.
As you know it takes time and practice to get there,But for me it is only a hobby that makes me happy ,My old tradition ,I am a lebanese born who left
Lebanon at the age of three and a half monthd and never went for a visit even ,and now at 56 I have my heart to my backround, where the real good
people where and some still. Arabic music is a very happy and sad music it has it all and the instruments are great,Wish I can play the Kanoun ,But I
will buy a nice one one day just for decoration in my house to go with all my other instruments...Well my friens hang in there,Read a lot at the
forums ,every little thing helps and there are a lots of great people in here willing to help. Best regards God Bless....Samir. California
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DD
Oud Maniac
Posts: 91
Registered: 8-31-2005
Location: The same as yours, my friend.
Member Is Offline
Mood: one mirror reflecting another
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| Quote: | Originally posted by syrianoud
Hi Don very nice to hear from you , I am a starter as I told you , and i have spend Thousands of Dollars on real expensive instruments like KORG
OASYS88 Key ,Guitars by Cordoba,And very excpensive top of the line Ouds.Plus I have bought at least 40 CD's Taqaseem Oud only and some Kanoun. I am
taking lessons my a great musician his name is Wael Kakish he is in Pasadena,Ca . And I am real happy , Looks like that in no time I will pick a lot.
since I do not work and kill much of my time at home practicing on mu Ouds, I let my Guitars and Piano lessons wait till I finish with my Oud
studies.
What I sugest go to many sites of famous Oud playes and read. I just ordered from DR.OUD his book how to built a Oud.I got it just for the knowlwdge
,I will not built one,Dr. Oud is very good at that,He can tell you from A TO Z and he knows what he is talking about.
As you know it takes time and practice to get there,But for me it is only a hobby that makes me happy ,My old tradition ,I am a lebanese born who left
Lebanon at the age of three and a half monthd and never went for a visit even ,and now at 56 I have my heart to my backround, where the real good
people where and some still. Arabic music is a very happy and sad music it has it all and the instruments are great,Wish I can play the Kanoun ,But I
will buy a nice one one day just for decoration in my house to go with all my other instruments...Well my friens hang in there,Read a lot at the
forums ,every little thing helps and there are a lots of great people in here willing to help. Best regards God Bless....Samir. California
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Thank you Samir, for your advice in finding the right recordings. I'm doing as you suggest, and I am posting "wanted" ads for the hard-to-find LPs,
such as the Water Lily Acoustics record of Hamza El Din's "Lily of the Nile." And such a treasure trove you have in your home!—a rich and wonderful
collection of musical instruments and recorded music.
And thank you also for keeping your tradition awake and lively in your heart, and for sharing that with the forum. Such feelings are especially
meaningful in today's society.
I'm so glad that you spend so much time with your music and with your instruments. By the way, I hope that you also spend time in your kitchen—some
of the most wholesome and delicious cuisine in the world is dwelling in that background of which you speak! (I was a chef for 10 years, and I tend to
think about food a lot.) (Actually, I would think about food a lot whether or not I was a chef!)
God's blessings, and take care, my friend,
Don
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