|
The 'ud , also spelled oud, is a direct descendent of instruments depicted in the wall paintings and carvings of Egyptian, Assyrian, Sumerian and far east civilizations. It has a deep, pear-shaped body; a fingerboard; and a relatively short neck and somewhat less acutely bent-back peg box than the European lute. The tuning pegs are set in the sides of the peg box. Its strings are plucked with a plectrum and are fastened to a tension bridge on the instrument's belly. The earliest ‘uds were thought to be carved from a single solid piece of wood, with a neck and two crescent-shaped sound holes and an animal-skin sound board, much like some East Asian lutes and the Persian barbat.
The instrument musically and technically evolved during the Islamic period in Spain (711-1492) and gained its current characteristic appearance; it was the parent of the European lute.
Surviving pictures of the 'ud show no frets, but it is possible that both fretted and unfretted types were used. Modern ‘uds are fretless and are not completely standardized in size or number of strings; five courses of string-pairs are common, six and seven pairs are also found. The 'ud is known in Turkey as the lauta and in the Balkans as the oud or uti. The kuwitra, a longer necked, narrower variety, is common in North Africa.
Issa Boulos |
|
