Today many of us Oud players are lone wolves.
Yes, there are communities of Middle Eastern musicians everywhere in the world, but we spend much of our time, blood, sweat and tears… practicing on our own.
I actually enjoy the independent practice. It’s a bliss when I can dive head in to my own world of Oud music.
…But at times, we get stuck.
You can’t seem to play your favorite tune the way you want.
Your tremolo doesn’t seem to get to the level of consistency and fluidity you want.
Your taqasim just don’t sound right.
Sometimes even the sound of the instrument just sounds monotonous…
It’s frustrating… I know, I’ve been there. Many times.
What NOT to do when you’re stuck
In those times, I’d get fed up, aggressively strum on my Oud, get exhausted, and end up feeling like a failure.
That’s what you should NOT do.
But instead, what you SHOULD do, is actually talk to other Oud players.
Let me explain.
Instead of fighting with the Oud (and yourself), do this.
When I attended the Arabic Music Retreat several years ago, I was overloaded with inspiration.
I mean, I got to watch and listen to the giants of the Oudists and Middle Eastern musicians for full 5 days. How can you not get inspired?
But the best part, for me, was interacting with the giants AND other musicians who are crazy about the Oud as much as I was.
It was simply exciting to be able to learn alongside other Oud players and talk about music all day long.
There is nothing like being immersed in an environment without the distractions of other musics, or other norms and standards that distract you from what you love about your music.
After the Retreat, I was really inspired and motivated to practice, and of course, the amazing instructors at the Retreat gave me a great deal of things to think about and keep working on.
My point is NOT that you should go attend the Arabic Music Retreat (although I highly recommend you do!)
But my point is this – If you feel stuck with Oud learning, go out there and talk to other Oud players or take some lessons with Oud teachers.
And better yet, get some feedback.
Even if you’re NOT stuck, but want some change, it’s great to chat with others who share the love of the instrument and actually know it well. They will talk about Oud pieces you’ve never heard about. They may tell you about other great Oud player in town.
You’ll come out much more excited about practicing and playing the instrument.
But what if I can’t find another Oud player to talk to?
If you can’t find another Oud player in town, I totally understand. Again, I’ve been there many times, and still feel this way to this very day…
That may be why most of us are lone wolves in the first place!
But don’t worry, there are a couple of things you can do:
- Find a local Oud player or teacher on MikeOuds – there’s a thread about it here.
- Take a few Skype lessons with me
I’ve been offering private lessons over Skype for a few years now, and one of the things my students enjoy the most about the lessons is actually talk about the Oud and Oud music.
Of course, we work on improving techniques and playing pieces, but the exchanges I have with my students about Oud makers, strings, rishas, players, music…. makes the lesson even more fun.
I’ve had the fortune of meeting some great enthusiastic people over the years that came to me for Oud lessons.
Here are what my students have said about my Skype lessons:
“My name is Patrick and I’ve played guitar for 23 years.
I bought an Oud about 6 years ago and have tried to learn how to play it by studying under 4-5 different teachers. I learned more in a few hours of one-on-one lessons with Navid than I learned during literally weeks to months from other teachers.
Navid understood that I only practice songs I enjoy listening to, and he was flexible about the fact that I only learn music by ear. I brought him a list of my all-time favorite middle eastern songs. The instrumentation and geographic origins of the songs were quite variable–some songs were Arabic, some were Persian, some were Turkish, some were Afghan.”
– Patrick Archie
“I highly recommend Navid as an oud teacher in many respects.
First is his overall approach to pedagogy and teaching: Navid meets you where you are in your learning, and is able to help bring you to the next level of playing. His teaching style is holistic, and covers the entire range of knowledge necessary to improve your oud skills: from theory, to technique, to understanding the deeper purpose of performance, Navid’s approach is comprehensive.
I was initially hesitant regarding Skype lessons, as previously I have only studied music in-person, but I found Navid easy to work with and I looked forward to the lessons. He understands and teaches the nuances of what makes the oud sound “right” in each context, but without being didactic.
Finally, I would like to note that Navid is unique among teachers for his range of knowledge of most main styles of oud: Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. This in and of itself makes studying with Navid a very rare opportunity: just as oud players nowadays listen to all types of music, there is finally at least one teacher in the the oud community who can help a student navigate the vastness of the instrument and its styles. Looking forward to many more lessons with Navid, and of course to continue following his online content!”
-Kamyar Jarahzadeh
“I have enjoyed getting lessons from Navid Goldrick for the past two and half years. The sessions have been via Skype as he used to live in Vancouver and I live in the United States. We have kept the lessons going now that he has moved to Japan. The connection has been surprisingly good and crisp even now.
I am happy to say Mr. Goldrick is the Master of Oud. He is well versed in Persian (Dastghah), Turkish and Arabic (Maquam) modes of music. He has dedicated significant effort to playing, promoting and teaching this great instrument. He has also composed music for the Oud. The Oudforguitarist website is a wonderful resource on the internet to learn introductory Oud for free and it also has paid subscriptions to Oud mastery. He is in the process of writing a modern Oud method.”
-Babak Abai, MD
Oud learning doesn’t have to be a lonely journey.
If you want to get some feedback on your Oud playing and be shown how to get where you want to be as an Oud player, I’m happy to discuss and arrange a plan for you.
Just want to try 1 lesson, and see how it goes? No problem!
I do have some time slots available, and you can check them out below:
Learn more about my private lessons here
Or email me with your needs at support@oudforguitarists.com. Looking forward to talking Oud with you!
