licensetokrill
Oud Lover
Posts: 14
Registered: 2-16-2018
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Does anyone play cross legged on the floor?
Forgive me if this has already been discussed elsewhere, just wondering if there is a big difference between using a chair and a footstool verses
sitting cross legged on the ground. Do I understand correctly that this is the traditional way to play?
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alaaraj
Oud Junkie
Posts: 159
Registered: 7-11-2015
Location: United Kingdom
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Mood: Tuning!
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Abaddi Aljoher plays a lot cross legged. I suppose play however way you are comfortable with as long as you don't hurt your back!
Onwards and upwards
HazRaj
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al-Halabi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 364
Registered: 6-8-2005
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Mood: No Mood
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Yes, that was the traditional sitting position for centuries. Chairs as we know them were not in use in the Middle East before the nineteenth century,
when the spread of Western lifestyles first brought them into common use in the region (along with other European domestic furnishings, such as
bedsteads, free-standing cabinets, and tables). Until then people sat cross-legged on mats laid on the floor or on upholstered divans. They were
accustomed from early age to sitting in this way for extended periods and engaging in all kinds of elaborate activities. Drawings and manuscript
illuminations from the premodern period show musicians performing while sitting cross-legged, and similarly scribes in government offices drawing up
documents, students attending classes, shopkeepers and artisans carrying on their business in the markets, etc. For them this was the normal way of
sitting, and their lower-body muscles and upper-body posture were adapted to it.
If you have grown up sitting on chairs you may find it a bit of a challenge getting used to sitting in this position so that it's not a physical
strain that interferes with your playing. Certain performances of religious and folk music, especially in rural areas, still involve musicians sitting
on the floor, but in general oud players in the region today use chairs and foot rests, and clearly don't consider the past practice of sitting
cross-legged as a required or preferred aspect of performing on the instrument.
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Eric Stern Music
Oud Maniac
Posts: 88
Registered: 7-15-2013
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I think this has been addressed somewhere in the forums and what I remember is that someone said that IF you sit on the floor and play, always sit on
a cushion as it's better for your back over time. Seems like good advice to me.
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MattOud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 297
Registered: 1-18-2017
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Mood: Feeling Pretty G'Oud
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...just like this guy, on cushion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWCAvDKf6oQ
{on a side note, wow this girl plays good darbuka!]
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