yozhik
Oud Addict
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Registered: 11-13-2017
Location: Sweden
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Difficulty of changing scale lengths as a beginner
I am a beginning oud student and after a few months of weekly lessons I am finally starting to get comfortable with finding the left-hand finger
positions on the oud.
I am learning on a 60 cm scale length Egyptian oud and don't have anything to compare it to, but the scale length seems fine for my hands. I never
felt that the finger spacing on this oud was too big or that I needed a smaller scale length.
I am, however, looking to upgrade to a better oud within the next year and many of the ouds I am looking at have a shorter 58.5 cm scale length.
How difficult is it to change scale lengths as a beginner? Will I need to relearn all the finger positions from scratch, or will I just need a few
days to adjust to the slightly smaller scale?
Is it better to stick with one scale length as a beginner, or are there actually advantages to switching back and forth between different lengths so
that one learns to adjust to different sized ouds faster?
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al-Halabi
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 6-8-2005
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I don't believe that you will find it a major problem to adjust. The fingers, with the aid of the ear, will fairly quickly find the correct positions
on the new fingerboard, especially as they are just minimally different from the ones on your current oud. Some of us have ouds with different scale
lengths and usually within a few minutes of warming up we adjust to a shift from one oud to another. Some oud players, though, feel more comfortable
with the 58.5 cm scale length and don't like the longer 60-61 cm length; others feel the opposite. But in most cases players can shift without much
anxiety. The size of the bowl, the action, the spacing of the strings and other features of the new oud may also need getting used to, and the scale
length may be one of the easier adjustments to make.
If you have a chance try out an oud with a 58.5 cm scale length and see how it feels.
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newlife_ks
Oud Junkie
Posts: 119
Registered: 6-12-2016
Location: Germany, NRW
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Hello Yozhik!
Being a newbie to the oud I am also considering to buy a 58.5 cm oud. Let me tell you why. I did an exercise from Charbel Rouhaha's oud method with
repeated notes as follows: dd(1) bb(2) cc(2) aa(2). The brackets indicate the strings played, fingering is 1(1) 3(2) 4(2) 1(2). Repeatedly playing
these notes I noticed that - keeping the cc pitch in tune compared to the open string - my index on dd began to rise in pitch unintentionally,
obviously feeling incomfortable having to spread that wide. My conclusion was - 60 cm on my egyptian oud is maybe not what I'm most comfortable with.
Greetings from Klaus in Germany!
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Having played oud for 20 years, and spent a lot of time working with people on strings— I've found that different sizes have advantages and
disadvantages. Arabic ouds mostly range from 58-64cm.
Everyone has different hands and arms, obviously, so people's experiences will be different. In my opinion, 60-61cm is really the best size for
Arabic tuning C-c'.
The oud is already relatively small considering how low it is tuned (consider that it originally had 4 courses, and has added lower strings over the
years), so making it smaller is fraught with issues.
Advantages of shorter ouds are that fingers don't have to reach as far for certain things, and may not have to move positions as much. The smaller
body may also fit some peoples' arms better.
The advantage of longer ouds are that notes aren't as close together and it can be easier to make small adjustments to intonation. The notes often
are cleaner and the intonation and tone is more clear.
If you look at old Arabic ouds, there are none that are under 60cm. I think there are probably good reasons for that. Of course some great makers can
make excellent instruments that are shorter, but it is rare. Having played around a hundred or so different ouds of different sizes over the years,
this is just a trend I've noticed. It's not the only factor of course, but in general, ouds shorter than 60cm will usually be disappointing in Arabic
tuning. It is also easier to come up with good string sets for ouds 60-62cm than it is for shorter or very long ouds.
But adjusting to a different size is not a big problem, at most it may take you a few days to get used to the new positions.
Of course, Turkish oud is different for various reasons — it is (usually) tuned higher and different tonal qualities are desired.
Klaus — playing one finger per half step (covering a minor third from first to fourth finger) should never be a problem; unless you have really
unusually tiny hands, the problem is not the oud but something in your technique. One should be able to reach a major third at if stretching. On a
60cm oud I can stretch to reach a 4th. Perhaps you can post a video of you playing that exercise and someone can help you figure out what the
difficulty is.
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paulO
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 9-8-2004
Location: California
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Hi yozhik,
If Arabic music is your primary focus - you should get an oud that's intended for Arabic tuning.
If the instrument doesn't make your body hurt, then you're good to go. In other words, I agree with Brian. Good luck man, and have fun !!
Regards,
Paul
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