Lysander - 12-16-2013 at 01:53 PM
So nahawand starts on D on Turkish, and the position of this is with the third finger traditionally on the fourth course. Is it right to think of
fingering for oud like 1st finger for the first semi tone, second finger for the second, third for the third etc.
Because I have not necessarily been doing it this way all the time. Are there hard and fast rules of fingering because I think there are not. Or are
there just general guides [like D of Nahawand normally starts with the third finger and it's always good to jump 1.5 semi tones using first and fourth
fingers]?
Hope this idea makes sense.
Brian Prunka - 12-16-2013 at 02:29 PM
Fingerings can be a little complicated, especially when dealing with the microtones.
Your basic idea is correct, one finger per half step. On oud, the main positions used are what would be called "half position" and "first position"
on cello (violin is not really comparable since the scale is so short fingerings are entirely different—the cello is the same range as the oud and
is a better comparison); i.e., first finger a half-step or whole-step up from the open string, respectively. Guitarists often label things
differently, based on fret number; so half position becomes first and first becomes second.
The augmented second interval on a single string (1.5 semitones) can be played with the first and fourth fingers, but it is often more effective to
use the first and third—in my opinion both ways should be mastered. Technically, if you use first and third you are switching positions midway
through.
For the segah note, you would generally use your first finger. An (arguable) exception would be if you were using the leading tone rather than the
open string below, you might find some circumstances where the second finger is better (usually the first finger would be used for both notes).
There is also the consideration that risha technique is often greatly simplified by careful fingering consideration. The choice of the same note on an
open string or with the fourth finger can mean the difference between smooth or extremely awkward picking.
Once you get up to the higher courses, you often use the full range of positions up the neck.