Mike's Oud Forums

Personal baglama question

SV_T_oud - 9-3-2014 at 10:45 AM

I know, I know! This is oud forum, but... I see baglama questions are not disallowed here. Right?

I have a very personal question regarding baglama. I have small hands and I doubt I'll be comfortable with baglama. For reference: my hand span fully open thumb to pinky, tip to tip is 21 cm.

When I watch baglama/saz players on YT I notice that majority of them have rather long fingers. In fact when watching YT I haven't seen anyone playing baglama with small hands like mine.

Any ideas or experience?

Just to give you an idea of I what mean. If you like Jazz guitar you of course know John Stowell. He claims that he has rather small hands and because of that he plays his guitar neck high up. That's how I play electric/hollow/semi as well. In the "neck parallel to the floor" position I hardly can play at all.
Also I can't play electric with the thumb-over the neck. Baglama is played exactly in this manner with the thumb on top. What gives me some "hope" is that baglama neck is much narrower than the average electric's neck.

Actually, when I watch John Stowell I see that his fingers are probably longer than mine.

John Stowell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2alwMHZZbo

I can't try before I buy because I'm only able to order it online.

abc123xyz - 9-3-2014 at 01:49 PM

I don't imagine it will be a problem, lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnYNsMqCt38

But seriously, my own pinky- to thumb-tip span is only 22 cm, yet I've never thought, nor been told, that I have particularly small hands. I've never played guitar nor bağlama, but I have played other long-necked lutes without any problem, ones with 30-mm wide necks. If I'm not mistaken, the average width of bağlama necks is around 30 mm.

There's no extensive use of chords either, in traditional bağlama music, that would require awkward finger stretches. I think the thumb seldom frets any but the highest (spatially) string course of the bağlama, which runs very close to the edge of the neck and is an easy reach.

David

pvk - 9-3-2014 at 06:45 PM

I really don't think you have a problem here. My main instrument is bağlama and my hand span is if anything slightly less than you. I've not had any problems - unlike, say, trying to play ney!

You may have to get used to a slightly different hand/wrist position than you might be used to on a guitar. Forget Segovia - on the bağlama using the thumb to fret the strings is critical. If you have a long necked bağlama and use karadüzen the meldody is played mostly on the top string with the thumb assisting on leading notes. In this style you move the hand up the neck relying heavily on fretting with the first finger. So it is not so much about big stretches. With bağlama tuning you play mostly in first position and it does require some chording across strings with a bit of a stretch, but I've never found it a problem.

I'm not sure if this Facebook page is open to all (can't find the video on YouTube sorry) but it shows the sort of stretches requıred. The player, Tuğba Ger, does not have huge hands :)

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=494868530572262

SV_T_oud - 9-3-2014 at 09:18 PM

Thank you abc and pvk, sounds convincing!

yavaran - 9-4-2014 at 12:45 AM

Don't forget, there are MANY sizes of saz. Baglama is just one size. I messed up and bought a larger one my first time and never really connected with it. However when I get a friend's in my hands i am really jamming. Try to buy something smaller! Avoid the baglama/full size at all costs.

spyblaster - 9-4-2014 at 04:53 AM

when someone complains about such these things, I always mention Django Reinhardt.

SV_T_oud - 9-4-2014 at 08:11 AM

Quote: Originally posted by spyblaster  
when someone complains about such these things, I always mention Django Reinhardt.


And not only you do it! ;)

That partly applies but if we consider specifics we can see it's very limited comparison. Sort of generalization.

For instance, I once asked a similar question on an acoustic guitar forum in respect to playing "thumb over" in the Travis style. It's a well known problem among short-fingered guitarists: many can't fret the low (top) E string with the thumb and make a chord formation underneath at the same time. Yes, it's a real, not some subjective problem.
What is advised in that particular situation:
- get as narrow and thin neck as possible;
- file a new low E groove in the nut as close as possible to the edge of the fretboard;
- consider different voicing (it works sometimes but is not what often is required by the style);

Django did very fast single-note runs with his two fingers. He was good at that. But, if you asked him to play C7 in the open position he would quickly send you packing.

spyblaster - 9-4-2014 at 09:38 AM

Of course there are limits. What i'm trying to say is that body limits is not a reason to give up on an instrument. there is always a work-around and good practice is the solution of all problems.