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Read MoreHamza Al Din Combo
So I’m sure you remember this video. I’ve embedded it three times now. There is a short excerpt from this that you will learn in the video below the Hamza Al Din one. This lesson puts together two techniques together to play this combo, the down down up picking pattern and the tremolo drone technique. Check it out! The Hamza Al Din Combo Difficulty: moderate to advanced, tricky What? The…
Read MoreThe Secret to Playing Taqsim Using Jins Rast (modulating to many different maqamat)
Ever wonder if there is one good trick or tool to use to create a seamless modulation from one maqam to another? Ever listen to a taqsim where the Oud player confuses your ears and you can’t follow what he’s doing until you realize he’s playing a completely different maqam than what he started out playing? I know I’ve experienced these situations plenty of times. But I’m now going…
Read MoreAdvanced Hammer on Pull off Combinations
Advanced Hammer-on Pull-off combinations are where your Oud playing will come to life. You will hear these nuances often in all kinds of traditional Middle Eastern music. Check out the video below to learn how to do it! Advanced Hammer on Pull off Combinations Difficulty: Advanced What? Advanced Hammer-on Pull-off combinations are where hammer-ons and pull-offs work together to create another unique nuance, or melodic phrase.…
Read MorePull-Offs – Oud Techniques
As I promised, you’re going to learn how to do a pull-off on the Oud. It’s a great technique to learn and it goes hand in hand with Hammer-ons. I admit, it was very challenging to try and teach this technique. It’s so much easier to teach one on one, but when you have a larger audience and you’re not in-person, you always hope you are making sense. So…
Read MoreAccented Tremolo – Basic Right Hand Oud Technique
I am so happy to see that you are following the Oud technique series videos and articles. This one is about a basic and fundamental Oud technique called… Accented Tremolo This is a technique that can be used in pretty much any situation. It is used Oud styles as it is fundamental to creating music on the Oud. Accented tremolo is also very important in Persian music. I…
Read MoreBass Note Jumping – Melody Embellishment Oud Technique
We are following up last week’s drone technique video with a technique that will help you embellish your melody and help you sound like a pro, I call it… Bass Note Jumping. This technique is widely used by professional Oud players and in theory is very easy, it just takes some practice to get the right intonation. I was actually specifically asked by someone to discuss this technique a…
Read MoreOud Maqam Learning Part 1: Maqam Learning Made Easy!
Okay, so you want to hear a melody, understand it and be able to play it authentically… But you find maqam music so hard to play, can’t recognize the maqams by ear, or remember them all…or all of the above? If so, check out this Oud Maqam Learning video series: Part 1: Maqam Learning Made Easy! (you are checking out this one) Part 2: The Ultimate Introduction to Maqam Music…
Read MoreEasy Rockin’ Oud Technique: Oud a la Van Halen
This article and video is going to teach you how to take a simple melody and turn it into a trail blazing explosion of serious Van Halen inspired chops! And this Oud technique only involves three parts: 1. Hold down a note on fingerboard and play a down stroke 2. Pull-off that note with your left-hand finger to allow the open string to sound 3. Then play the open string again…
Read MoreSaid Chraibi Album Review/Analysis – Oud
Some of you said in our survey that you would like to know “what combination of technique, knowledge and execution it takes to emulate the great masters.” Well, let’s get familiar with some big names. In the next few months, I will write a series of articles discussing “celebrity Oud styles” and reviewing albums. Today, I want to discuss one of my favorite albums, Said Chraibi’s Oud. After reading this…
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