I got an oud!

Ibrahim and his daughter Mary invited us into their oud shop located in the Hand Crafts Market, just behind the National Museum. Ibrahim insisted we sit down and before we knew it Mary had prepared four fresh cups of coffee for us all.

We sat around a small table while I explained how I played guitar but had never even touched an oud. Ibrahim pulled one down from the hooks surrounding us and started to play. Mary got frustrated because the instrument was not in tune. Her father, twisting the tuning pegs, snapped back. They exchanged a few more words that I couldn’t even begin to understand. I couldn’t stop laughing.

Mary had mentioned that she’d been learning how to play, so I insisted that she show us all how it’s done. So she plucked it from her father and started playing a tune. Finally, I asked if I could try.

I was really surprised by how light the instrument is, especially considering the big, bulbous shape of the body. The top of the oud has three oval shaped sound holes, as opposed to the single circular hole usually seen on acoustic guitars. The fingerboard is fretless, and the intervals between whole notes are not familiar to me. It uses nylon strings like a classical (Spanish) guitar, and it’s strung like a 12-string guitar in that the strings are in pairs. But there are only 10 strings (4 pairs). The pick used is not the teardrop shape I am accustomed to, but a 5-inch long, flat, narrow, plastic stick — like this.

Who really knew if the thing was in tune? But I started playing anyway, just trying to imitate what Ibrahim and Mary had done a minute ago. Eventually I was able to make something sounding somewhat musical to come out of the thing. Pretty cool! I ended up trying four different ouds.

We went back to the shop a few days later, once I had gotten some money together, and I picked out my favorite one — the one emblazoned with the name of its maker, طويل (Tawil). Now I’ve got to learn how to work this thing…