joseph
Oud Maniac
Posts: 62
Registered: 6-22-2004
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The sound of Anouar Brahem
Hi,
Am I wrong to find the sound of the oud in the following example quite remarkable?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU5WU_d7fsM&list=RD5FES6BtitWA&a...
I find that there is always a certain roughness to the tuning and sound of the oud and Arabic instruments compared with Western instruments. I don't
mean this in a negative way. I have grown out with the rougher sound and I love it, listening to to Umm Kalthoum songs on worn out tapes and in noisy
streets
But am I wrong to find something special and unusual in the sound of Anouar here where the oud sounds as smooth as a piano. Is it the make of the oud,
the playing style, the higher tuning, exceptional attention to tuning, something else or a combination of these factors?
By the way, as much I love traditional arabic music, I am getting more and more to love the combination of Arabic music and Jazz in small ensembles
like this and the role of the oud in it. I feel that it is a Western influence that is positive and works and sounds great.
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
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Location: California
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When he plays the higher strings the oud sound is very smooth and tuneful in this performance. On the lower strings however Anouar Brahem is
uncharacteristically out-of-tune in this video. His finger placement is exact but some of the pairs of strings are imperfectly tuned with each other,
producing a slightly jarring effect. The horn player is not quite in-tune with the oud. And the microphone is exaggerating the percussive sound of the
plectrum striking the strings making it rougher than one normally hears.
Competent Arabic musicians are typically not out-of-tune. There often is a rough edge to the vocal timbre. The playing of Arabic flute is typically
breathy and has a deliberate "edge" but that is not the same thing as rough tuning.There can be a percussive quality in the playing of some Arabic oud
players. But the tuning of the strings and the placement of the fingers of professionals are perfect. You will hear some pitches that are not found
on a piano. But you will notice in a typical performance that all the musicians and singers are in tune with each other making the same non-European
pitches.
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majnuunNavid
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 7-22-2013
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Mood: Dude, where's my Oud?
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It's a combination of Anuoar's playing, his oud and the microphone, and sound engineer that makes it sound this way.
A lot of Fa-Fa players use floating bridge Ouds which takes the familiar fat, muddy tone away from the oud we have grown to love. Anuoar uses a fixed
bridge here which retains that fat tone notwithstanding the different tuning.
The ouds from north africa, with the exception of Egypt, have a really strong punchy sound. Listen to Said Chraibi and you will hear a similar tone.
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Greg
Administrator
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Registered: 7-22-2004
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Hi Joseph,
Anouar Brahem rarely plays microtonal maqamat. So most of his playing uses the chromatic scale.
That is perhaps why you made the comparison to piano, which of course is a western 12-tone equal temperament instrument.
In a setting, such as this, where the ensemble is made up of instruments like a bass clarinet and a fretted electric bass, there is little possibility
for playing microtonal music.
There is no doubting the brilliance of Anouar Brahem's composition and playing, but perhaps a small part of his success can be attributed to his
music's accessibility to the western ear.
Regards,
Greg
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joseph
Oud Maniac
Posts: 62
Registered: 6-22-2004
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Hi,
Yes thanks everyone for the interesting comments.
My remark was just a general impression, but I went back and listened again with headphones because I was particularly intrigued by what Jody said. I
cannot detect these subtle differences, but perhaps I haven't listened to Anouar Brahem as much so I can't compare with other performances. My
impression however is the oud is very clear in the higher registers.
I love the music and the playing in this clip, but maybe I am also starting with low expectations of when I hear the oud playing alongside other
instruments. I usually expect to be heard the oud only when playing solo, or not to hear the oud at all.
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