nadir
Oud Junkie
Posts: 329
Registered: 12-29-2003
Location: USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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What type of instrument is oud?
i just read a few reponses to some forum topics and it brought me to a new subject. most people say that the oud is an arabian instrument, others say
its egyptian, and some say its persian [these are the most common statements]. in my opinion, i think that the oud is generally a near/middle eastern
instrument because its played all over arabia, armenia, iran, turkey, greece, cyprus, MALTA, and of course - north africa.
im inquisitive why people say that oud is strictly an arab instrument. granted, they are the best players in the world and the most common models of
the oud are from arabia yet there are also less common ouds made for example in malta, iran, and armenia. personally, im not sure of the exact origin
of the oud and its constraints because i have read in so many books and articles that vary so much on where the oud is from.
other than that, i think the important thing is that people enjoy the instrument and play it for the love and romanticism the oud generates.
i was wondering if anyone agrees that oud is a near/middle eastern instrument and not strictly arab... i apologize for such a controversial topic yet
i need an answer... this was is no way meant to be offensive to anyone.
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Chococumba
Oud Lover
Posts: 18
Registered: 11-23-2016
Location: London UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: Curry
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I would agree that the oud is a middle east instrument. I would say that the Arabic style oud is more common than the smaller sized Turkish oud. No
one really knows where exactly where the oud was first made, but there is a common opinion that the oud originates from Syria and Iraq which are both
considered to be Arab countries whereas Turkey and Iran are considered to be Persian countries.
The Arabs were well known travellers and traders, The introduced the Oud to places like Africa, Europe (Spain) and even as far as Malaysia and
Indonesia due to the space trade (before Islam). Before Islam, the Arabs travelled the world and their typical flag colours were red and yellow
(sultan flags). If you do some research on historical flags around the world where Arabs have been, you will notice that these flags are mainly red
and yellow. Check out Somalia and Malaysia historical flags, you will find they are red and yellow. Todays remaining example would be the flag of
Spain. The Arabs introduced the Oud to Spain and the Spanish turned the oud into the Classical guitar with frets.
The first ouds only had 2 strings.
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bugaga
Oud Addict
Posts: 47
Registered: 9-14-2016
Member Is Offline
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For the first time I hear somebody saying Turkey was a Persian country. What makes you believe that? Iran is the leftovers of the Persian empire
(which was bigger before) and Turkey is the leftovers of the Ottoman empire (which was bigger before), but rulers and occopied areas where changing a
lot through history. Still I can not get your point.
Also I've never heard of oud initially being two stringed. I think about the original form of oud we can only guess.
Whatever. Oud is not a national instrument. Sadly some people insist on it, but it is so widely spread. Not only north Africa, also East like Sudan,
Somalia and Zanzibar. So when ever I get asked where oud is from, I give a long list of countries/areas.
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