charlie oud - 2-15-2009 at 12:06 AM
Dear Members,
I have been exploring. Tone production and ease of action mainly. I would like to share this little experiment which I have found very
helpful.
Hold the risha in the traditonal common way and lift your hand so the risha tip is facing upwards. Now loosen your grip until you feel the
risha is about to fall from your grip. Start to play, striking with hand movement, whilst keeping this extremely light grip. Try up down, triplets,
tremelo etc...until you can play this way.
Do not tighten the grip at all. The sound maybe a little quiet. This can still be a good sound. From this point on you can repeat the process,
increasing your grip until you have ease of action and a tone you like.
In doing this I have discovered a whole range of tone and feel I never knew existed. Im not saying it'll work for you, maybe I'm just wierd.
Self tuition can be wacky!. C
rojaros - 2-15-2009 at 04:39 AM
Thanks for sharing your experience, Charlie.
I think that is applicable to any aspect of instrument technique.
In my experience people (myself included) start doing things like playing an instrument very much from the tense side, be it left hand fingering, be
it right hand plucking technique.
I think that is ampng other things an outgrow of self imposed expectation to do things better than we can - ambition.
So also for the left hand: instead pressing your fingers tight on the strings almost as if you wanted to drill holes into the fingerboard see that you
start from the exremely relaxed side, not even bringing the string down to the fingerboard, and then increasing the finger tension slowly until a
clear sound comes up.
By that you'll have a clearer picture how much force you actually need to plays and you will not reneder your left hand immobile by exerting ways too
much pressure.
And by the way you will have discovered a whole range of degrees of clarity and staccato sounds you can produce...
same principle as described by Charlie ... thanks!
best wishes to everybody - there is no end to developement ;-)
Robert
charlie oud - 2-15-2009 at 05:07 AM
Very true Robert, good advice. I also teach guitar and advise your approach to left hand technique. Many people do not realise that it also takes time
to apply and then release pressure with the left hand fingers which prevents the development of legato, speed and clarity and as you say, there is a
much greater sense of musical and expressive freedom to be enjoyed by reducing tension . What is often felt as being a problem with their right hand
is often due to the left hand. C.
Reda Aouad - 2-15-2009 at 07:28 AM
Well Im trying the risha technique.. And I cant seem to master tremolos. And I don't feel like Im in control. I think it needs practice.
In fact, the first thing Ive been told when I started to learn oud is to hold the rish tightly. I think releasing grip on the risha comes only after a
certain level of professionalism. That's just my opinion. And just as a note.. Marcel Khalife is the player who loosens the grip on his risha the
most.. At least that's what I noticed from the videos I've seen. Anyways.. doesn't this need a soft risha instead of a stiff one?
As for the left hand pressure.. Im still not able to do it because of the extremely high action of my strings. I contacted Mr. Oud to try to find a
solution and Im waiting for his reply. But definitely practicing the left hand technique described will improve a lot.
charlie oud - 2-15-2009 at 08:20 AM
Hi Reda, Im no expert but I would strongly disagree that releasing the risha only comes after a certain level of professionalism. To the contrary, I
believe this is why so many people have problems with speed and tremelo, a tight grip of the risha will become a bad habit as it requires tension, and
tension, rather like anxiety, feeds on itself. I think its best to try a medium risha, not too thick, not too thin. Two things;1) Im not sure the word
"grip" is an accurate way of describing the way to hold a risha. Thats the common term we use. For me personally, Its more like I "cradle" the risha
in my hand, I dont really grip it. 2) Marina from this forum made what I felt was a very helpful comment which taught me alot. She said to always play
from the hand, think hand as striking the string not risha.
Its each to their own and we all have to find our way, this forum is a fine resource for sharing, It has helped me so much so I am
trying to post something in return. Thats all. C
Reda Aouad - 2-15-2009 at 08:44 AM
Id better fix my oud's neck first :P
Anyways.. thanks a lot.. indeed it's a great forum.. since I registered I read almost all threads and topics and I can tell you my knowledge has
increased by a tremendous amount, which I couldn't do for years!
Thanks again Mike for this great forum.. and all the members for their great contribution. Looking forward to learn more and make more contributions
as well 
Brian Prunka - 2-15-2009 at 12:17 PM
Hey Charlie, you're in good company with the idea that the risha should beheld lightly. check out this thread I started about a year ago on some
other ideas about how to hold the risha. The technique I describe makes it possible to hold the risha very lightly and also get a loud sound and vary
the attack.
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=5901
charlie oud - 2-17-2009 at 06:38 AM
Yes, I found this a very helpful thread, thanks Brian.