Oud means wood in arabic and it is a music instrument made of wood dated back to 3500 BC ,it is one of the oldest stringed music instruments in the world.
Oud is half pear-shaped wood instrument made up of sound board which typically have three sound holes sometimes they are full of incredibly beautiful oranate decorations, the back of the instrument is bowl shaped made up of individual strips called ribs which made of hardwood like walnut wood which are heated up which are bent and glued together with spruce sound board .the sound bowl attached to finger board which is attached to bent backward peg box where the strings tied and run along the finger board and the sound bowl and attached there to the bridge which is glued to the sound board .some of the ouds have floating bridge where the strings are tied to the voice box and bridge is movable.
the oud played with a plectrum (pick) called risha mean feather, because eagle quill used to be the risha but today ofthen players use plastic or bamboo wood pick.
oud is the ancestor of the european lute (first appeard in spain in 711 and fully blossomed by 15th century during renaissance period ),but unlike the lute , oud has not frets so we can play microtones .
oud is the king of all other instruments used by most of arabic music composer and singers.
the oud has now 5 doubled strings tuned in unison's and one low single string : single c , 2 Fs,2As, 2Ds ,2Gs,2Cs , all strings tuned in perfect fouths execpt F to A which major third.
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