The greatest guitarists of our time like Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana did not just delve with the classical and rocker styles of guitar to become masters of their chosen instrument. They also studied different string instruments to improve their musical range, depth and overall playing style.
Believe it or not, the family of string instruments is not merely confined to guitars and violins. Many countries in the world have their own sets of string instruments like zither in the Eastern European countries, lyre in ancient Greece, hammer dulcimer and oud in the Middle East. Indeed, there is a rich culture for music in the Middle East as well. If the guitar is the instrument-to-be in the Western hemisphere, oud is the thing in the Middle East.
This is a pear-shaped string instrument that is often regarded as the predecessor to lute in the Western world. The apparent difference between the two is that it has no frets, a style in string instrument that is quite prevalent in the Middle East. As a matter of fact, the words oud and lute are believed to have come from the same Arabic root word.
In Azerbaijan, the instrument is known as Ud after it was introduced there in the 7th century. While predominantly popular in the Middle East, there are also several serious players of this instrument in Europe and a few in America. The instrument was perhaps introduced in Western Europe during the times of Arab caliphates beginning in 711 AD.
The immediate distinction of this string instrument from other guitar styles is that it lacks frets and obviously does not have fretted necks. This structure allows the player to utilize more on vibrato and slides to produce a more expressive effect. There used to be frets in this instrument but the abandonment on frets is believed to be leaning to the preference of melismatics than harmony in the Eastern music.
A regular of this instrument has 11 strings and ten of these strings are paired in the courses of twos. The last string, the eleventh, is left unpaired. The shape of the instrument resembles that of a half watermelon and bowl-like. It has also one to three sound holes, which can be either circular or oval in shape. The unique structure of the instrument helps in ushering out a more complex tone when played.
Outside the Arab world, more people have become aware of the different magic that is available in the instrument called oud. There are different types of this instrument depending on your level of playing the instrument. You can enjoy the brand of music from from this instrument at affordable rates if you try to find them among the online sellers.
Author Resource:-
Matthew Stanton writes an article about
oud and its distinction from other string instruments while learning its history. Simply visit this site for information at http://www.yourworldinstruments.com/Oud-s/59.htm
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.freebie-articles.com/images/rss.gif "XML Feed For RSS")
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites