MoPAT
Oud Lover
Posts: 11
Registered: 9-7-2015
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
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Beginner Q on strings and tuning
Hi Guys. I have just acquired an egyptian oud from arabinstruments.com. I am a beginner with no music background at all and hope to make some progress
in the coming months by researching the oud and using the appropriate help. My plan is to subscribe to the online youtube videos of i3zif
and go from there.
I have just received my oud and, to be honest I am intimidated by it. The oud has come strung already, however, some of the lower strings feel
somewhat loose. I have read on the forum that some advise to change the strings upon arrival. Can you damage the oud by keeping the strings on?
Also, can you tune the existing strings and go from there? I have ordered some Pyramid strings online and await them but just wanted to be sure that
using the oud with the current strings will not damage the instrument?
Thanks in advance,
Mo Patel
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tkmasuda
Oud Addict
Posts: 31
Registered: 7-23-2015
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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I think the trick is to measure the scale length of your instrument, decide what tuning you are going to use (there are a bunch of choices), then
order strings accordingly. It probably took me 10 days before I first got the thing in tune. There's a nice video by Navid on tuning by ear but use a
digital tuner or GarageBand or something first. I'm finding tuning the oud has some voodoo to it.
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Lysander
Oud Junkie
Posts: 410
Registered: 7-26-2013
Location: London, UK
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You don't want to mess about too much with the original tuning. I would find out what the original tuning is and stick with it. You can experiment
with iterations below it if you must, but tuning above it could risk damage to the instrument.
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MoPAT
Oud Lover
Posts: 11
Registered: 9-7-2015
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
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Hi guys, thanks for the help. I have some pyramid strings coming in the mail as I've read these are reasonable. I may have made an error in purchasing
though. I purchased a 6 string set (CFAdgc'), but the online course i want to do uses 5 strings in GADgc. I have a friend who is a guitarist helping
me out to tune. This may be a stupid question but can the CFAdgc' strings be tuned to a 5 string GADgc, removing the 'C' string? Also is there a
difference between c and c' ?
Thanks!
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1353
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
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Quote: Originally posted by MoPAT  | Hi guys, thanks for the help. I have some pyramid strings coming in the mail as I've read these are reasonable. I may have made an error in purchasing
though. I purchased a 6 string set (CFAdgc'), but the online course i want to do uses 5 strings in GADgc. I have a friend who is a guitarist helping
me out to tune. This may be a stupid question but can the CFAdgc' strings be tuned to a 5 string GADgc, removing the 'C' string? Also is there a
difference between c and c' ?
Thanks! |
You have purchased a suitable set. Yes, use all the strings except the bass C. What you have purchased however, if it is really a set of oud strings
is in all likelihood eleven strings, not 6. There should be two of everything except the bass (thickest, lowest pitch string) which is usually single
in this tuning. If the FF strings are not super high tension you can easily tune them up a step to GG.
There are many varieties of Pyramid strings. The super duper extra-fab fantastic kind are lute strings that have been selected by a knowledgeable
dealer to be the right gauge for the vibrating length of the string on *your* oud. But you don't have to worry about that. The Pyramid strings that
are pre-packaged as Oud Strings should be just fine and should sound good. And they will be cheaper too. They will not last as long as the more
expensive lute strings, that's all. The difference in sound between different kinds of strings will become evident to you after you've played for
some time.
In fact, I see no reason to not use the strings that are already on the oud. Why would you want to change them? One reason would be if they are a set
designed for F tuning. If that's the case you can just ignore or remove the first course (ff) and tune the FF up to GG and you are ready to go. You
don't even have to remove the high ff. just ignore it. If the strings that the oud came with are not made of barbed wire or dipped in poison, I would
play those strings until they wear out and then replace them with the pyramids you have already ordered. No waiting for delivery.
you don't need help from a guitar player to tune your oud right now. There are a number of oud tuning videos on youtube. This one for instance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCS5VbIY6vY
Please give us a context for c versus c' . I don't understand the question. One has an apostrophe and one doesn't. But you already know that.
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1353
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
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| Quote: Originally posted by MoPAT | I have read on the forum that some advise to change the strings upon arrival. Can you damage the oud by keeping the strings on?
Also, can you tune the existing strings and go from there?
Mo Patel |
So long as the strings are tuned no higher than the pitch for which each string is intended the oud is safe. If the strings are old and the windings
are coming off, then sure you might want to change them. But they are not dangerous to the oud if not tuned above pitch. A 5 dollar set of strings
and a 50 dollar set will do the same damage to the oud if severely over-tightened. But new ouds do not automatically come strung with dangerous
strings.
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2916
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: Stringish
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| Quote: Originally posted by MoPAT | can the CFAdgc' strings be tuned to a 5 string GADgc, removing the 'C' string? Also is there a difference between c and c' ?
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Hey Mo, I answered this in your email but thought I would post it with some elaboration here for everyone's benefit (not a stupid question at all):
The letters indicate specific pitches. The correct naming of the string pitches you are talking about is G A d g c’.
Many people are confused and use capital letters to indicate wound strings and lower case to indicate plain strings; this is not correct.
If the oud was actually tuned G A D g c, the pitches in ascending order would be D G A c g—in other words, the lowest pitch would be the 3rd
course D, and the first course c would be lower than the second course g. Which is not a tuning that anyone uses!
The range of pitches used in the oud is roughly C to c''. The low C is a capital letter, when you get to the C an octave above it (third finger on
the "A" string) you switch to lower case letters: c. The next C that you get to is the highest open string, you add a "prime" to the lower case
letter: c'. The next one is "double prime", etc.: c'' (way up the string toward the soundhole).
If you tune below the lowest C, you add primes to capital letters: B'.
There is an alternative system using numbers (C1, G3, etc.) but I find this one more practical and intuitive for the oud.
Additionally, it's good to know that oud sounds an octave lower than the standard sheet music. That low C is actually the the C two ledger lines
below the bass clef staff, and the treble c' is "middle C".
If you see the whole pattern, the naming is easier to make sense of:
C D E F G A B c d e f g a b c' d' e' f' g' a' b' c''
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Gocauo
Oud Maniac
Posts: 64
Registered: 8-22-2014
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| Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka | Additionally, it's good to know that oud sounds an octave lower than the standard sheet music. That low C is actually the the C two ledger lines
below the bass clef staff, and the treble c' is "middle C".
If you see the whole pattern, the naming is easier to make sense of:
C D E F G A B c d e f g a b c' d' e' f' g' a' b' c''
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Learn something new here all the time....
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Oudmokum
Oud Lover
Posts: 12
Registered: 9-8-2015
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Hi Mo Pat
And to begin I would say: "thank you Brian" (well, thanks again) for your advice.
I bought a Syrian oud end of august, I specialized myself in Eastern music systems, and I play the guitar (flamenco). Well not an expert, more a
student.
As a beginner, I appreciate the method of Abou Ouardi (Morocco) , who is a kind person and an expert. Well, it's in French. Maybe you can find some
equivalent in your language.
The Oud is not a Arabian guitar. Find a tuner on the net. Don't worry, be patient. The oud is difficult to tune. Without the right body attitude, it
won't sounds good.
I like his approach of the Arabian maqâm compared to the Western scale. It's just practical.
Read on this forum, search on the net, you'll find it.
Wait at least a month or 2 before changing the strings. Chance they are of quite cheap quality, but you should learn the basis for. Other way you
cannot judge or evaluate.
With a soft or medium risha, please.
All my best wishes (yeah, for you it's New Year)
Bernard.
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MoPAT
Oud Lover
Posts: 11
Registered: 9-7-2015
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
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Thank you to all of you for your advice and help. I really appreciate it, since I have no other source of advice, besides you guys and Youtube.
It has been baby steps but i'm moving slowly. Tuning the oud was difficult at first, and I had to make adjustments to string length etc. but the
strings are beginning to settle and keep tune. I am following the i3zif course and finding it really easy to follow and helpful.
Ciao, and thanks again! 
How do you know, if you never try?
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