@@hannahjohnson4582 I don’t see why not she has a a background in classical music as she played the Viola. Also she likes to finger style so I hope this comes to fruition
Congarts on the amazing success for both of you.. Amazing info and thanks for anyone who pushes the Oud instrument up in the hierarchy of the strings instrument.. I love Oud, I have been playing for more than 10 years and I have my own TH-cam channel as well "11 Strings".. check it out you might find something you like.. And let me know your feedback..
Ahmed and Brandon should tour together under the name "Ouden Maiden" and cover classic metal songs on Oud. (I've heard songs from bands like Iron Maiden and Helloween played on Spanish Guitar and they sounded great, I'd love to hear them on an Oud or Lute)
I play Oud for 9 years and I wouldn't have thought that a western gentleman would play this good with a proper Oud vibrato not to mention that you had to dig into the many different scales the microtones has left. Absolutely awesome man!
The oud is not only itself a predecessor for the European lute, but it gave the lute its name! Arabic "al-'ud" gave something like "laud" in old Romance languages, then via French it came into English. Spanish still uses the name "laúd" for the lute.
Here in Portugal, and in Spain as well, we still have a lot of arabic influence in terms of names, both of locations and items. Albufeira (city name, and also means a type of dam), alfarroba (fruit), almofariz (mortar and pestel), Alhambra, etc etc
@@limecupcakes My personal favourite as an outside observer (neither Ibérica nor Arabian) is "alacrán" (from al-eaqrab"), meaning "scorpion" for those who don't know.
That's like bragging about Nazis leaving behind cultural influences after their genocidal regime was kicked out of your country... Islam is the most genocidal ideology in human history that's killed between 270-670 million people over 1400 years of relentless conquest & the Earth is much worse for it, not better, as with Naziism.@@limecupcakes
I am glad we're keeping this awareness alive. When he left the Old World and the attentions of both the Van Helsings and The Brotherhood behind, it fell to us in the New World. There are fewer of us here, so we have to be selective. So long as he primarily shares his knowledge of the past digitally, he's less of a threat than the Master and Apprentice model of olden days.
My dad is a oud player, haven't seen him for two years. This video brought tears to my eyes. Whenever you mention something that my dad already told me about, I would nod my head with approval, like, yup that's right yes correct :D
The theme from “Pulp Fiction” is actually an old Lebanese song, “miserlou.” Dick Dale, the guitarist, was Lebanese-American. So it’s kind of awesome that an old Middle Eastern song becomes a surf rock hit, which in turn becomes a hit again when featured in a movie, which is what you think of when...you play an Arabic oud. Music: actually pretty awesome.
The story goes that Dick and the Del-Tones were playing at a dance on the beach and a drunker surfer challenged him to play a whole song on one string. He remembered his uncle teaching him to play Miserlou on the oud when he was young and the rest is history.
It's broadly middle-eastern. Claims of origin are futile. The song is just a scale , the hijaz kar, going up and down. It's possible that multiple places "came up" with it independently.
I'm Somali and I play the oud. The world recently lost Ahmed Ismail Hussein (إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعون) due to the coronavirus. He was known as the King of Oud and he's the reason why I begged my parents for an oud and why I still play to this day. EDIT: spelling
A master oud player can play the oud with such sensitivity that it brings tears to one's eyes. The loss of the King of the Oud is not only the loss of a great musician, but a truly special and sensitive soul.
@Riyan Ali I am sorry for your loss. I was not familiar with the artist you mentioned, but thanks to your comment I can now learn about him and enjoy his music. thank you
I realise this is going to insensitive and I'm sorry for that... But Ahmed Ismail Hussein is the most Arabic name I have ever heard. It's like every stereotypical Arabic name was jammed into one.
8:29 The reason you were reminded of the "theme of pulp fiction" might be more fascinating than you think. The theme is actually a surf rock cover of "Misirlou", a Greek or middle eastern love song about an Egyptian woman. It was first recorded in the 1920 and also has lyrics. The origins of the melody might reach back even further. I find it fascinating that you were reminded of that tune, because when I heard the pulp fiction theme, I immediately felt it had something Eastern about it.
Also, the version used in Pulp Fiction is by Dick Dale who is half Lebanese. He said he learned the riff and the style of picking (tremolo) to achieve that distinct Eastern sound on a guitar from his uncle who taught him the oud as a child. People like Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix have cited Dick Dale as an inspiration to their guitar playing. It’s crazy to think how technically, without Arabic music, there wouldn’t be a lot of the European/American classic rock/heavy metal genres.
The title "Misirlou" is a mix of the Egyptian name for Egypt (Misir), and the Greek suffix "lou", which when put together, makes "Misirlou", meaning Egyptian Woman. The song talks about a Greek man in love with an Egyptian woman. The Ottoman Empire invaded Greece for a long time, and by doing so introduced their culture to ours; food, language, and most notably, rhythms, instruments, dances, and music. Misirlou is in Hicazcar (giving it Bb instead of B), and for the second part of the song, Hijaz (same scale, but uses B instead). Both scales are Middle Eastern scales which got introduced to the Greeks by the Ottomans. Most Greek music includes lots of Middle Eastern scales (Rast, Hijaz, Nihavend, etc.), most notably the music from Asia Minor (Smyrna, Constantinople, etc.), and some Greek music even has the same melodies as Turkish music but with different lyrics and stories (Turkish: Üsküdar'a Gider İken / Kâtibim - Greek: Από Ξένο Τόπο, for example). It's also ironic to consider the fact that the basic occidental modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc.) are also Greek. So not only has Greece adopted the oriental music, but also contains occidental music.
For people who want to know arabic maqams, arabic maqams are eight: 1: ajam مقام العجم 2: nahawand مقام النهاوند 3: kurd مقام الكرد 4: hijaz مقام الحجاز 5: bayati مقام البيات 6: rasset مقام الرست 7: sika مقام السيكا 8: saba مقام الصبا
The Moorish invasions is also the reason why there's a lot of Phrygian in traditional Spanish music, Spain was influenced by the Arabic people a lot. And not just in music, also in architecture and language, and probably other arts too.
Hey guys! The most common comment is about the term "Arabic Oud." To clear up any confusion, I'm not claiming it's originally Arabic, or only played in Arabic countries. The term "Arabic Oud" is used to refer to a specific type of oud, which is distinguishable from the "Turkish" Oud, for example. Checkout this link for a description of the differences in the instruments: www.oudforguitarists.com/types-of-ouds-ultimate-oud-buyers-guide-1/
Hi Brandon, Hope you are in good health! There is another Turkish traditional stringed instrument called "Bağlama" I think that you would like to make a introducing video on it :) keep up the great work 🎸
The word Arabic refers to only one thing in existence: language. Anything else is Arabian, never Arabic, and anyone anywhere who uses it wrong is not a justification.
Calling Barbat as Persian is kinda misleading. The instrument orignally belonged to Gandhara region (present day Afghanistan) which came under Sassanid empire from where it became poplular in Persia. And Gandhara region was a mix of North Indian and Greek influences. So the oud eventually is descended from a Indo-Greek instrument. Having said that lute like instruments have been depicted throughout Mesopotamia and Egypt and have a very ancient tradition.
To start all you need is the 9 major maqams and after that you’ll develop an ear for any tune you hear. I am an oud player and I tell you that you did a great job. I’ll be using your video to educate my western friends!
Would you say a maqam is a similar concept to the Indian raga? Are they the same notes ascending and descending, or are there any differences between the ascending and descending notes?
Damnit, I have basically an identical video that I'm editing at the moment. Very clear and understandable explanation, although I would add that maqams shouldn't be viewed simply as "scales". In fact a maqam (often translated as "modes" actually) are made up of tetra (or penta)chords in which the notes can kind of change. So Maqam Hijaz consists of two tetrachords (called "jins"), the first of which is always the "Hijaz jins" which is the four first notes that you played in the scale. The second half of the scale can be made up of another tetrachord, you used the "Nahawand jins" in this case which is most common but this can vary and sometimes change or be modulated in the middle of a song or improvisation but still remain a Hijaz Maqam. As another example, if you play the Hijaz jins/tetrachord followed by another Hijaz jins you end up with a variation on Hijaz called "Hijaz Kar". Also the maqams or modes of Arabic/Turkish/Armenian music usually contain certain moods that are to be evoked, or recurring phrasing for example. So referring to them simply as scales is simplifying it a little bit. I like your playing, and the Oud sounds fantastic. You have a great tone in your playing, especially for someone who just picked up the instrument. Keep up the good work! EDIT: I have now finished and posted my video, which you can find here: th-cam.com/video/mVY1apvItM4/w-d-xo.html
@@benjamingrezik373 Not exactly. Maqams are still similar to "scales" in that they contain a determined group of notes. But then it extends beyond the scope of the western concept of scales, too :)
@vibratingstring Bradon did such a good job that I kind of don't have to. But I might add some points to it where I dive deeper into certain subject to justify its existence, we'll see :)
I’m Arab and I didn’t even know this. I’m just looking to buy myself a guitar. And this pop up in my feed. This gives me a great since of pride of my culture. Thank you so much ❤️
The blues derives itself from the slaves who probably originated from east Africa, some scholars believe that there was an influence from the middle eastern music and folklore.
I am almost speechless. You are no beginner; you are well on your way to a high level proficiency on the oud, and I listen to a great deal of Middle Eastern music. This video is a superb introduction to this beautiful Middle Eastern instrument, presented in a clear, concise and informative manner.
@@aliassim8735 Thank you for your comment. Years ago, knew a graduate student from Kuwait that played the oud so masterfully and with such emotion, he could bring tears to the listener's eyes.
@@shariff007 Thank you for your comment. Years ago, knew a graduate student from Kuwait that played the oud so masterfully and with such emotion, he could bring tears to the listener's eyes.
My brother plays oud very well When i was a child i used to hear him playing the most beautiful tunes I ever Heard, after war we had to flee, He bought another oud to make Peace again in our souls ❤️❤️❤️❤️ A very beautiful Instrument
Extra knowledge: The names of maqams are from cities or regions in the Middle East. For example, Nahawand is a city in Iran. Hijaz is a province in Arabian Peninsula.
It is interesting that in the Spanish music form Flamenco, there are also forms named after places, like Malagueñas, after Málaga, and Granainas, after Granada. They are also forms influenced by the North African Muslim period of 711-1492. Then again, the North Americans have Mississippi, New Orleans and Chicago forms of the Blues form :-)
@@e.a297 Your instrument nationalism is bullshit. For example, violin was invented in Italy but violin is the instrument of all nations. Several music cultures use violin.
Thank you for this beautiful video. I am Turkish and i actually live in Üsküdar, Istanbul :). We have a lot of shares with Arabian culture majorly heritage of The Ottoman Empire and i just love the way their music plays especially with the Ud (Oud). Feels so soft, satisfying and relieving to both playing and listening..
As a musician who's from the middle east, this is the coolest video I've seen because this is the true representation of oud. I like how he has so much knowledge about it, keep it up! Edit: love from Iraq! 💜
I'll catch the occasion to ask you some suggestions about artists and genres of your country and near places. I'm starting to "make the ear" in your sounds, my goal is amplify my repertoire and improvisation skills but also simple curiosity. Sadly it's kinda difficult find significant contents and interesting artists if you're looking for them from Italy (Damn TH-cam logarithm ahah), I'll be very thankful for any help from you
@@lorenzodreo2268 I'm worst person to ask this to because I dont really keep up with arabic music. Butttt there are very famous people you should check out. 1.abdulhaleem hafith(old school) 2. Um kal thum (old school)
@@lorenzodreo2268 Generally speaking classical music is favorited by most Arabs, especially Umm Kalthoum, Abdulhaleem Hafiz and Talal Maddah. Fairouz is relatively closer to western music, and most if not Arabs listen to her songs once or twice a week if not daily even till this day. The Rahbani Brothers, Wadih Al Safi, and Wardah are also good representatives of Arabic Classical Music. Modern music however lost most of it's Arabic tone and is now hardly distinguishable from other types of music around the world. That's why most of Arab teenagers nowadays prefer to listen to non-Arabic songs, however if you like to listen to some modern Arabic but quite good music, I suggest Assala, Elissa, Nassif Zaytoun, Adam, Hussein Al Jasmi, Hamza Numaira and Fadil Shaker.
Fun fact: the Arabic root ع و د actually means to bend flexibly, to return after bending. The derived word oud عود means wood, but it also refers to supple, flexible strength. Something you need when playing the oud or any stringed instrument!
Greetings from Tunisia ♥ It's so nice to see such a beautiful instrument get some recognition in the west. Hope you visit us one day and do a show here ♥ This was a very special episode for me.
This contributed to me buying an Oud for myself, I decided on a Turkish one, though. There are no local sellers so I got one online and it should arrive in September from Turkey! Wish me luck in learning, and thank you for introducing this wonderful instrument to me!
@Abigail Orozco It turned out well! It actually showed up strung incorrectly which almost broke it, but after that little hiccup it went well! Im still learning, and I havent had much time to practice since Ive been working to save up for school, but yeah. Really cool to own and learn to be playing one!
@@thecatladytm7172 I'm so happy for you! I definitely love Arabic music culture, (maybe it has to do with Spanish blooded people being quite mixed with Arabs through history?) and I would love to try one in the future, even though it looks a bit scary to learn, haha! For now, I'm sticking to classical guitar. I wish you good luck with it, and with school too, for that matter :)
As an Arabian that's a very good introduction to Oud, and your knowledge is impressive. If you want to check famous Oud players check out Saudi singer named Abadi Al-Johar , we call him (The octopus of Oud)
Fun fact: That theme from Pulp Fiction is actually a 1962 surf rock classic by Dick Dale. It's called "Misirlou" and is actually an Easter Mediterranean folk song which Dale made a surf rock version of, so no wonder the Hijaz scale reminds you of it - it's arguable the most famous song based on the Hijaz scale! 🔥🔥🔥
The first part of the melody we can analyse in both western and eastern traditions. Jazz musicians would call it the 'double harmonic minor', but in the makam tradition we would say 'hicaz zirgüle' meaning you stack 2 hicaz tetrachords on top of each other. Ofcourse it has a specific 'seyir' or melodic progression with interchange of different tetrachords (cins) to define it as that 'flavor' or 'color'
Your comment is everything that is right in the world, hats off for letting us know. I always felt like it had Arabic flair to it, but thought it was just a hunch. Glad to know my hunch was right.
Dick Dale’s real name was Richard Monsour. His father was Lebanese. I think his grandfather played the old. I think Misirlou is like an Egyptian belly dancing song.
Oh my freind .The Oud is an (Arabic) instrument, it is the first and oldest musical instrument in history . The saz is an (Kurdish) instrument, not turkish never at all . Many people think the saz instrument from turkish origin !!! this is a completely mistaken belief .
i am from tunisia and i am so surprised and happy that you know about the country because the majority stub me in the heart by saying this "where is that!, is it in europe ?" thank you brandon for mention it you already put a smile on my face i love you.
@@brandonacker In this case I would say that your judgment is a bit biased. Because it surprised me that you did not mention Mr. Alla one of the greatest master of Oud by far better than the names you mentioned. take a look th-cam.com/video/k02c6i7DIsc/w-d-xo.html
I really appreciate your respectful approach to the instrument and it's history. Your choice of phrases and inclusion of diverse names, as well as your humility in acknowledging how the different modality poses a challenge for you (rather than simply saying it sounds off) was really good.
Thank you for your docuseries on the Oud. My cousin was an Oudi, these beautiful instruments are custom made. The day he played Knights in White Satin on his Oud, I was blown away - he was playing western music on a middle-eastern instrument.
Man, watching your video is wholesome! I really love your innocent reactions, they deliver the exact emotion of interest you are experiencing right now! As an Arab from Algeria, I like our traditional music and very proud that you had a topic about this instrument!
Some members of my family used to play the Oud, including my brother. It has such a distinctive, nostalgic sound to it. I love the rare occasions when composers use it in their music to add an Arabian feel to it, it makes me happy.
Hi Tunisian here, i'm honoured that a very talented guy like you is discovering my musical culture and sharing it to the public, specially mentioning Anouar Brahem (انور براهم), and btw the tone you played at 9:11 is ريتك ما نعرف وين (Ritek ma naarf win) by Lotfi Bouchnak one of the greatest Tunisian musicians ever. you should check him out too :)
The hard work you put into learning hownto play and studying the history of these instruments never ceases to amaze me -- you go above and beyond any other string-player on TH-camr! ❤
Great Instrument .. i am playing Oud for 13 years now ... and i was waiting you to talk about it ... I really loved the way you introduce this magnificent instrument ... continue your study about it and master it ... Its not hard for a Musician like you ... the arabic maqams are a bit complicated ... but they are rich in emotions and feelings ... try to listen to Riad Sunbati , Simon Shaheen , Marcel Khalife and Ahmad Khatib ... i hope to see another video about the Oud from you.
I wish middle eastern would unite more to accomplish more just like the golden age where Islam united us all. I ve enough money in 2 months to order an oud, can’t wait to get my hands on. Hehe
@@nima-m_m hopefully brother, I wish you and all of Iran the best. This so called hate is not between the people, it's only the leaders who try to push us against each other. You're smart, you realized the truth early.
اشكرك من قلبي لصناعة هذه الحلقة المميزة جدا عن الة شرقية عريقة وهي الة العود واعجبت جدا بطرقة عزفك وادائك السلس لم اشعر للحظه ان من يقوم بالعزف ليس شرقيا...... شكرا مرة اخري وكل التمنيات بالتوفيق والنجاح
I’m actually impressed with your knowledge about the Oud and how much you know about the history of it. Comes from an Arabic guy specially...! And Nassir Shama is a legend.!
As a Turkish person, hearing "Üsküdara Giderken" from you was very very deligtful. Thanks Brandon. I would really like to hear you play bağlama someday. It is also an instrument that is very common in Turkey and has a very unique sound. I think you would like it.
For just taking one lesson, you did such an incredible job capturing the emotions behind arabic music. Another good oud player is Farid El Atrache , he was a Syrian-Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor.
To make things clear Oud is one of the hardest instuments to learn and play for us Arab people who are already used to such oriental music and the fact the this guy is from a completely different music type that belongs to occidental world and he learned this instrument very quickly really ''Chapeau 🎩 bas '' bravo it shows how much you are into music
As a Turkish citizen, this is the very first time that I see an oud withOUT any ornament on sound holes. But this guy is so nice and humble that I feel relaxed and learning at the same time listening to him.
It's looks to be a Syrian style oud by Ibriham Sukar... many of his ouds are not ornate. ouds with the oval sound holes tend to have no or minimal ornamentation.
@@yogurt2497 Thats a Syrian oud by Sukar and I would bet money on it. Iraqi ouds are not fixed bridge, they are %90 floating bridge ouds now. This is a basic Sukar oud.
Music in the Arabic culture is a very vital way to express almost each and every human feeling.. That's why it seems complicated in its basic structure but it gets much easier as you feel it and it surely represents your roots and where you come from. Actually the scales you mentioned are named after the places where they were either invented or mostly played.
The oud is one of my favorite’s. I’ve heard live concerts in small clubs. Very inspiring. Ever since I find myself attempting similar melody and patterns on my guitar. Thank you for sharing your exploration back into this part of musical history.
@@deldia I just looked it up and it is definitely true. From etymologyonline.com "from Old French lut, leut (Modern French luth), from Old Provençal laut, a misdivision of Arabic al-'ud, the Arabian lute, literally "the wood" (source of Medieval Latin lutana, Spanish laud, Portuguese alaude, Italian liuto), where al is the definite article."
@Christiaan Baron: The lute was not particularly popular in Renaissance Spain because it was seen as the instrument of the enemy. Instead an instrument called the "vihuela" was very popular. It was guitar shaped (but I suspect it's internal structure was different to the guitar) and strung like a lute. Music for the vihuela can be played on the Renaissance lute.
that’s because, in spanish, lutes are called “laudes”, which is pronounced like oud. many spanish words come from arabic ones that have been “adapted” due to accents or are just straight up the same word (many people’s surname(s) are actually Arab words -like my first surname)
Hey, i'm tunisian and a music student. I have to admit you you introuced the Oud perfectly. I loved how you improvised on the makams, specially Hijaz( مقام الحجاز). Btw, the song in end is called ريتك ما نعرف وين which translates to, i cant remember where i saw you, and Halfaouine is a place in Tunisia. The song originally is a poème wrote for a girl, and he just keeps mentioning all the places in Tunisia where the poet met her. Here's the link for the song if anyone wondered: th-cam.com/video/bxTgRCZy45o/w-d-xo.html
I saw a movie that I believe had this song as a theme in the background, of the same name Halfaouine? Based in Tunisia. Really nice music in that movie.
As a student.learning arabic music i am very impressed cos the oud is one of the hardest instrument for a lit of pepole and im happy that you shared your experience with us . Thank you
Thanks for making these fascinating videos, it makes me want to get one of these :) It's also interesting to note the influence this music had on Spanish music. And I love Anouar Brahem's Oud-Jazz fusion!
Brandon! that music from pulp fiction is actually a folk song called Misirlou which translates to "Egyptian Girl" and was probably composed with the Oud in mind!
An instrument that speaks emotionally to one’s soul as one listens! What a great post that helps one play the Oud, along with it’s history. Thanks for sharing this informative post on such a beautiful instrument!
I really like that you mentioned Anouar Rahem. I heard his "Tunis at Dawn" on the radio a few years ago, and was completely stunned. You know, one of those pieces where you just stop everything you're doing to listen, and really focus on the piece and just be in awe. It's amazing, and I'd highly recommend giving it a listen. The track doesn't seem to be on youtube, but the album is called Souvenance. Definitely worth tracking it down!
Thank you so much. My father brought me back an Oud from Saudi Arabia pre-internet times, and I knew nothing about it; just that it looked beautiful. This has brought it to life. Maybe I will have a go!
Want to learn more about the oud from an expert? My online school Arpeggiato is hosting a Zoom workshop with our expert oud teacher Ali live from Cairo, Egypt! You can join us on Feb. 5th. Checkout this link to learn more: Arpeggiato.com/events
Aftet the moorish conquest, Brandon ( being 20 that time ) had the chance to travel to Al-Andalus from his temporary home in Navarre, where he would meet his first Oud teacher, Ibn Saleh al-Maroq. I do hope more vampires teach us about their knowledge from their past.
I have been playing the Oud for over 30 years. It' beautiful and a very very emotional instrument, my favorite for sure. You sir as a beginner, I must say that you are handling it very well and playing it professionally . keep it up and you'll be a master one day.
Hey, just wondering how did you learn it? I just began to find interest in instruments such as the oud, it just gives me chills and makes me feel calm just by listening to it, so i always imagined what if i learnt how to play it. And I have no experience whatsoever in guitars or any instruments at all hehe😅
I actually learned it on my own believe it or not. I have a good ear to music. With lots of practice over the years I can replay just about any song I hear. I did learn how to read notes at one point but i never play notes when I play music it's all by ear. I watch how professional players play and try to learn from them. I did develop my own technique and I think you will too. Lastly, It depends on which music you listen too, the style of play varies from one country to another. Some of my favorite styles are the Egyptian , Turkish and Lebanese.
@@raym.4686 Thanks for replying Ray, wow i can't believe how musically talented you are, hopefully I'll be as good as you one day where i can just play any song simply by listening to it! Just asking because i really want to buy one, what company makes good oud?
The "pulp fiction theme" is also the same one used in the black eyed peas "pump it", its a eastern Mediterranean dance tune (likely Ottoman) called "Misirlou/Misirli/Misr" and tunes like it are pretty common in hip-hop circles. When I visited Egypt, Israel and Jordan in 2020 I heard it being played in multiple incarnations in their popular music and also their jazz.
You're so talented when it comes to mastering tones and delivering emotions in a way that causes goosebumps, it caused my neurons to go into meltdown. The number of emotions you've incorporated into your creative improvisation is extraordinary. For a western person. you're also very talented when it comes to mastering the Maqams.
This video is a gem. Amazingly well told facts and music theory for different schools of music, a great instrument being showcased and beautifully played, even some amazing players suggested (now I listen to great oud players on YT instead of some mixes for background). I mean, if YT algorithm works well sometimes, then this is it.
You have presented the oud in a clear and correct way to people who do not know anything about the oud. It is clear that you have made a great effort in researching this information about the oud, well done
The influence of this instrument in Spain is immense. Listening to Flamenco, particularly the 'traditional' style of flamenco, the differences are so small between the Oud and the flamenco guitar (yes, there are differences between a classical guitar and a guitar used to play flamenco). If you haven't watched it, take a look at the film Vengo.
In Tunisia (where the piece Halfaouin is from and when Oud is a beloved instrument ) artists like Hedi Jouini were heavily influenced by Flamenco as well and they interpreted those melodies using Oud and Kanoun... A song by him that I would love to recommend and where the influence is obvious is "Lamouni Elli Gharou Menni" or "Hobek Yetbadal Yetjaded" ..
I love the sound that comes out of the Oud. Arabic music has such a romantic sound to it... I think the Half Fats have such a classic Arabic sound... Now I'm going to run out and buy a bunch of Arabic CD's ;-)
I play classical guitar myself, but those songs scales/patterns produced by that Arabic Oud, played by you and songs by Anouar Braheem as suggested by you, are really take my mind to another world, very different from what i learnt, and yet very beautiful
Guy professionally plays the theorbo for god's sake, people who play theorbo are a true rarity, let alone people who even know it are also a rarity. And here you are talking about Kanoun. Qanun, santur, santoor and dulcimer are from the same family with a great resemblance to harp to an awful extent, and this eliminates the surprise factor to be honest.
@@mozarth booboo chill, i just want him to review it. i get what you're saying but after all everyone likes it when someone from other culture reviews your culture.
Halfaouine is actually a neighborhood in Tunis in the old part of the city. I'm Tunisian and the interpretation of this piece by Lotfi Bouchnak (Tunisian artist) is very famous. You should come and visit Tunis 😉.
Adnen Ben Youssef Not to mention the movie by the same name by Tunisian director Ferid Boughedir. I believe the Halfaouine piece that Brandon plays also is featured in the movie, played by Anouar Brahem.
Brandon, I must give you a shoutout to you and thank you generously for opening my ears, heart, and soul to this wonderful instrument! Oh yea, love that one you just ordered too!
im moroccan and my uncle often played the oud at family reunions and stuff, makes me nostalgic ☺️ he always made it seem so effortless, i never knew how complex playing it really is!!
مقام also means "Station" Its true meaning can be seen in hyperbolic geometry. In the hyperbolic 2D circle, there's a center circle from which all of the other patterns branch off of squeezing towards the edges of the circle, yet this center pattern is repeated all the way down. All the circles look the same but are not this circle. This center circle is "the maqam" of these circles, the station And they're all the maqam relative to the circles around each circle
The Halfaouine is a place in Tunis the capital of Tunisia , the music Halfaouine is from the movie " Asfour Stah " or " Child of the Terraces" a great movie and a beutiful music of Anouar Brahem ... thank you for remind me of these unforgettable years.
I used to play it back in Egypt for years. Thank you for introducing it. The Spanish people put the frets cause they couldn’t stand the quarter tone of the middle eastern music lol (even though it’s awesome and has been proven it triggers great happiness hormones in the brain similar to weed). I am now evolved to guitar cause I live in Seattle WA :)
That’s probably not true. You hear a lot of microtones in more traditional Spanish music like flamenco. Frets just change certain things like it’s much easier to finger chords.
As I’m in Saudi Arabia, the Oud I hear always plays Arabic sounding music. When you play, I hear English sounding music which is very weird, but unique and nice.👍🏻
@@lorenzodreo2268 Ahmed Fathi Simon Shaheen Muneer Bashir Farid Alatrash Abadi Aljohar Naseer Shamma Charbel Rohana Marcel Khalifa Among so so many.. take a dive and enjoy 🙏🏼
Playing like this an oud and saying that you're a newbie... You must be the most humble man on earth ! Thanks for the video, I am playing bass for more than 40 years, the oud is a instrument I really love, I think I will get one of these days, there are cheaper arabic oud available in Germany just to start with, an excellent choice around 350€ / $500.
An excellent presenting video, your low volume and calm voice with the beautiful sound of music made the video just fantastic. I felt the need for more even though the video had end.
Brandon should have a parallel career as an audiobook reader. His voice is perfect.
that would be amazing!😍
Yep caz his voice is so clear
Him and Mary Spender she has the most soothing voice ! She’s a guitarist from TH-cam and songwriter.
@@fredymendez855 I love Mary Spender! I think Brandon should totally collaborate with her sometime! What do you y'all think?
@@hannahjohnson4582 I don’t see why not she has a a background in classical music as she played the Viola. Also she likes to finger style so I hope this comes to fruition
Well done
Thanks, Ahmed! Congrats on your successful channel and wonderful playing
Two talents congrat each others ❤❤
Congarts on the amazing success for both of you..
Amazing info and thanks for anyone who pushes the Oud instrument up in the hierarchy of the strings instrument.. I love Oud, I have been playing for more than 10 years and I have my own TH-cam channel as well "11 Strings".. check it out you might find something you like..
And let me know your feedback..
you both guys are really legends, and you both play all instruments perfectly
Ahmed and Brandon should tour together under the name "Ouden Maiden" and cover classic metal songs on Oud. (I've heard songs from bands like Iron Maiden and Helloween played on Spanish Guitar and they sounded great, I'd love to hear them on an Oud or Lute)
I play Oud for 9 years and I wouldn't have thought that a western gentleman would play this good with a proper Oud vibrato not to mention that you had to dig into the many different scales the microtones has left. Absolutely awesome man!
Can you tell me , how and where to buy a oud ... Can I get it in Turkey
@@monodriver001 of course bro go to any music intruments shop and ask them
@@eintroll8792 Persians also invented the Hamburger, true fact!
Check out this Instagram : jbaliqs
They play amazing funny songs with the oud
@@eintroll8792 It was mostly used by Arabs, and it got popular because of the Arabs.
The oud is not only itself a predecessor for the European lute, but it gave the lute its name! Arabic "al-'ud" gave something like "laud" in old Romance languages, then via French it came into English. Spanish still uses the name "laúd" for the lute.
Here in Portugal, and in Spain as well, we still have a lot of arabic influence in terms of names, both of locations and items. Albufeira (city name, and also means a type of dam), alfarroba (fruit), almofariz (mortar and pestel), Alhambra, etc etc
@@limecupcakes My personal favourite as an outside observer (neither Ibérica nor Arabian) is "alacrán" (from al-eaqrab"), meaning "scorpion" for those who don't know.
That's like bragging about Nazis leaving behind cultural influences after their genocidal regime was kicked out of your country... Islam is the most genocidal ideology in human history that's killed between 270-670 million people over 1400 years of relentless conquest & the Earth is much worse for it, not better, as with Naziism.@@limecupcakes
I try to learn something fun and/or interesting every day, and you just gave me that for today. Many thanks, cheers from Mexico!!
@@EcholaliaxuSounds pretty phonetically similar to my native language. Scorpion is „akrep“ in Albanian.
بصفتي شخص عربي اشكرك على تقديمك العود بهذه الطريقه. من الواضح انك اجتهدت على هذه الحلقه وقدمتها بطريقة رائعة رغم صعوبة العود
@@DH7i حسب تجربة اصحابي
الجيتار أصعب من العود
Steel الكمان اصعب من القيتار والعود
L M A O
Steel يب ما ينحط حتى انه من اصعب 10 الات
@@yagamilight2693 الكمان هو الأصعب
- Don't you dare get out of your comfort zone...
Brandon Acker: - Fretn't
Many people oudn't dare ...
@@anhthiensaigon lol I see what you did there
666 likes
You are the reason I'm sleeping a happy man tonight.
@@anhthiensaigonAnd I *oudn't* care less what people think. I did, I love arab, oriental, and especially Turkish music. 😊 I'm mexican btw
Being a vampire. His knowledge must have come from his travels around the world in ancient times.
Its called wikipedia my guy
@@grege68
Its called humor.
I am glad we're keeping this awareness alive. When he left the Old World and the attentions of both the Van Helsings and The Brotherhood behind, it fell to us in the New World.
There are fewer of us here, so we have to be selective. So long as he primarily shares his knowledge of the past digitally, he's less of a threat than the Master and Apprentice model of olden days.
(I am now thinking about writing a full fanfiction about his exploits called The Wanderer [from his album "The Wanderer's Guitar."])
I can feel some Castlevania in your words
My dad is a oud player, haven't seen him for two years. This video brought tears to my eyes. Whenever you mention something that my dad already told me about, I would nod my head with approval, like, yup that's right yes correct :D
Is important to be in contact with our family. God bless you all in the name of Jesus.
@@JesusProtects
In the name of God, Jesus is a human who neither benefits nor harms
@@Al_mutlaq
For Christians, Jesus is the voice of god, so to speak
@@A-G-F- Bilal is a muslim name meaning that this commenter is a muslim probably
Uuuuuh Bilal is of “Arabic” origin rather “Muslim” origin
The theme from “Pulp Fiction” is actually an old Lebanese song, “miserlou.” Dick Dale, the guitarist, was Lebanese-American. So it’s kind of awesome that an old Middle Eastern song becomes a surf rock hit, which in turn becomes a hit again when featured in a movie, which is what you think of when...you play an Arabic oud. Music: actually pretty awesome.
The story goes that Dick and the Del-Tones were playing at a dance on the beach and a drunker surfer challenged him to play a whole song on one string. He remembered his uncle teaching him to play Miserlou on the oud when he was young and the rest is history.
Yeah.. "Lebanese", not Turkish, as the name suggests.
it's actually an old greek/turkish folk song
in turkish "mısırlı" (read like misirlou) means "egyptian"
It's broadly middle-eastern. Claims of origin are futile. The song is just a scale , the hijaz kar, going up and down. It's possible that multiple places "came up" with it independently.
I'm Somali and I play the oud. The world recently lost Ahmed Ismail Hussein (إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعون) due to the coronavirus. He was known as the King of Oud and he's the reason why I begged my parents for an oud and why I still play to this day.
EDIT: spelling
الله يغفر له ويرحمه
A master oud player can play the oud with such sensitivity that it brings tears to one's eyes. The loss of the King of the Oud is not only the loss of a great musician, but a truly special and sensitive soul.
@Riyan Ali I am sorry for your loss.
I was not familiar with the artist you mentioned, but thanks to your comment I can now learn about him and enjoy his music.
thank you
Riyan Ali Alle ha u naxariisto
I realise this is going to insensitive and I'm sorry for that...
But Ahmed Ismail Hussein is the most Arabic name I have ever heard. It's like every stereotypical Arabic name was jammed into one.
8:29 The reason you were reminded of the "theme of pulp fiction" might be more fascinating than you think. The theme is actually a surf rock cover of "Misirlou", a Greek or middle eastern love song about an Egyptian woman. It was first recorded in the 1920 and also has lyrics. The origins of the melody might reach back even further.
I find it fascinating that you were reminded of that tune, because when I heard the pulp fiction theme, I immediately felt it had something Eastern about it.
Interesting :)
Also, the version used in Pulp Fiction is by Dick Dale who is half Lebanese. He said he learned the riff and the style of picking (tremolo) to achieve that distinct Eastern sound on a guitar from his uncle who taught him the oud as a child.
People like Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix have cited Dick Dale as an inspiration to their guitar playing. It’s crazy to think how technically, without Arabic music, there wouldn’t be a lot of the European/American classic rock/heavy metal genres.
Misirlou is a great example of the double harmonic major scale (1-b2-3-4-5-6-#7).
And Dick Dale is a LEGEND.
The title "Misirlou" is a mix of the Egyptian name for Egypt (Misir), and the Greek suffix "lou", which when put together, makes "Misirlou", meaning Egyptian Woman. The song talks about a Greek man in love with an Egyptian woman.
The Ottoman Empire invaded Greece for a long time, and by doing so introduced their culture to ours; food, language, and most notably, rhythms, instruments, dances, and music. Misirlou is in Hicazcar (giving it Bb instead of B), and for the second part of the song, Hijaz (same scale, but uses B instead). Both scales are Middle Eastern scales which got introduced to the Greeks by the Ottomans.
Most Greek music includes lots of Middle Eastern scales (Rast, Hijaz, Nihavend, etc.), most notably the music from Asia Minor (Smyrna, Constantinople, etc.), and some Greek music even has the same melodies as Turkish music but with different lyrics and stories (Turkish: Üsküdar'a Gider İken / Kâtibim - Greek: Από Ξένο Τόπο, for example).
It's also ironic to consider the fact that the basic occidental modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc.) are also Greek. So not only has Greece adopted the oriental music, but also contains occidental music.
bravo @@skieslatsos
I don’t understand a single thing about instruments and yet I can’t stop watching your videos. Also I’m Arab so this was really fun to watch:)
For people who want to know arabic maqams, arabic maqams are eight:
1: ajam مقام العجم
2: nahawand مقام النهاوند
3: kurd مقام الكرد
4: hijaz مقام الحجاز
5: bayati مقام البيات
6: rasset مقام الرست
7: sika مقام السيكا
8: saba مقام الصبا
Arabic maqams are hundreds. These are the basic only
كل. مقام تحته افرع كتير
Names seems Iranian also nahavand is a city still in center of iran ❤
صبا راست سه گاه نهاوند و...
حتی بیات یعنی بیاد in the memory of
The Moorish invasions is also the reason why there's a lot of Phrygian in traditional Spanish music, Spain was influenced by the Arabic people a lot. And not just in music, also in architecture and language, and probably other arts too.
That's so interesting man
Not only Spain but also Portugal was heavily influenced by moorish culture as well
Poetry too. L'aamour courtois or fin amor
the word "ojalá" comes from "inshallah".
Ditto food. Many of the traditional Middle Eastern recipes made their way over to what is now Argentina when the Spaniards invaded.
Legend says Brandon still hearts comments to this day ❤
You earned that one ;)
Good bait.
I bet!
@@brandonacker brandon....huhu...i couldn't buy 'cause its so expensive...can you make one for me for affordable ptice😉
*Gasp*
تقديم جميل ومحترف، لم يكن تقديم للعود فقط بل هو تقديم للموسيقى الشرقية، اتمنى ان نرى منك المزيد مما يخص الموسيقى الشرقية.
Hey guys!
The most common comment is about the term "Arabic Oud." To clear up any confusion, I'm not claiming it's originally Arabic, or only played in Arabic countries.
The term "Arabic Oud" is used to refer to a specific type of oud, which is distinguishable from the "Turkish" Oud, for example.
Checkout this link for a description of the differences in the instruments: www.oudforguitarists.com/types-of-ouds-ultimate-oud-buyers-guide-1/
Hi Brandon,
Hope you are in good health!
There is another Turkish traditional stringed instrument called "Bağlama" I think that you would like to make a introducing video on it :) keep up the great work 🎸
The word Arabic refers to only one thing in existence: language. Anything else is Arabian, never Arabic, and anyone anywhere who uses it wrong is not a justification.
Calling Barbat as Persian is kinda misleading. The instrument orignally belonged to Gandhara region (present day Afghanistan) which came under Sassanid empire from where it became poplular in Persia. And Gandhara region was a mix of North Indian and Greek influences. So the oud eventually is descended from a Indo-Greek instrument. Having said that lute like instruments have been depicted throughout Mesopotamia and Egypt and have a very ancient tradition.
@@sun4502 Absurd
oud originated in Mesopotamia Way before the Barbat. There are ancient evidence profing that
To start all you need is the 9 major maqams and after that you’ll develop an ear for any tune you hear. I am an oud player and I tell you that you did a great job. I’ll be using your video to educate my western friends!
I’m thinking of playing oud, I’ve never done any music before how do you suggest I should start? Thank
How do you learn other people’s songs? Sheet music?
@@moeeid7982 start by learning the 3ajm maqam
Would you say a maqam is a similar concept to the Indian raga? Are they the same notes ascending and descending, or are there any differences between the ascending and descending notes?
@@ianlarrimore8 it actually depends on the maqam some have the notes ascending and descending and some of them don't
I have never heard anything more stunning. Not just the music but the lesson too..
Damnit, I have basically an identical video that I'm editing at the moment.
Very clear and understandable explanation, although I would add that maqams shouldn't be viewed simply as "scales". In fact a maqam (often translated as "modes" actually) are made up of tetra (or penta)chords in which the notes can kind of change. So Maqam Hijaz consists of two tetrachords (called "jins"), the first of which is always the "Hijaz jins" which is the four first notes that you played in the scale. The second half of the scale can be made up of another tetrachord, you used the "Nahawand jins" in this case which is most common but this can vary and sometimes change or be modulated in the middle of a song or improvisation but still remain a Hijaz Maqam. As another example, if you play the Hijaz jins/tetrachord followed by another Hijaz jins you end up with a variation on Hijaz called "Hijaz Kar".
Also the maqams or modes of Arabic/Turkish/Armenian music usually contain certain moods that are to be evoked, or recurring phrasing for example. So referring to them simply as scales is simplifying it a little bit.
I like your playing, and the Oud sounds fantastic. You have a great tone in your playing, especially for someone who just picked up the instrument. Keep up the good work!
EDIT: I have now finished and posted my video, which you can find here: th-cam.com/video/mVY1apvItM4/w-d-xo.html
Sounds like they are more of a genera that contains scales and arpeggios and stuff
@@benjamingrezik373 Not exactly. Maqams are still similar to "scales" in that they contain a determined group of notes. But then it extends beyond the scope of the western concept of scales, too :)
How Maqam compares to Indian Ragas. Seems pretty similar.
@@toma4474 My knowledge of Ragas are very limited, so I can't really answer that question with certainty. There probably are a lot of similarities :)
@vibratingstring Bradon did such a good job that I kind of don't have to. But I might add some points to it where I dive deeper into certain subject to justify its existence, we'll see :)
I’m Arab and I didn’t even know this. I’m just looking to buy myself a guitar. And this pop up in my feed. This gives me a great since of pride of my culture. Thank you so much ❤️
1 minute in and I can already tell I'm going to want to watch every episode of this "INTRODUCING" series. Immediate subscribe.
As a Texan I’m so used to blues, country, and rock (closest to ethnic music we got here) it’s fascinating to hear Middle Eastern music. I love it! 👍🏼
There are some of us oud players in Texas!
Idk where you live in Texas but there’s plenty of “ethnic” music 😭
You have some really good French "ethnic" folk in Louisiana and a bit of East Texas, same with the Hispanic folk music in West Texas of course
Travel, even if just done musically, broadens the mind wonderfully.
The blues derives itself from the slaves who probably originated from east Africa, some scholars believe that there was an influence from the middle eastern music and folklore.
I am almost speechless. You are no beginner; you are well on your way to a high level proficiency on the oud, and I listen to a great deal of Middle Eastern music. This video is a superb introduction to this beautiful Middle Eastern instrument, presented in a clear, concise and informative manner.
Robert Schlesinger exactly!! This video is just a very enjoyable well-presented documentary
ditto that. Am enjoying Anouar Brahem now...
@@aliassim8735 Thank you for your comment. Years ago, knew a graduate student from Kuwait that played the oud so masterfully and with such emotion, he could bring tears to the listener's eyes.
@@shariff007 Thank you for your comment. Years ago, knew a graduate student from Kuwait that played the oud so masterfully and with such emotion, he could bring tears to the listener's eyes.
My brother plays oud very well
When i was a child i used to hear him playing the most beautiful tunes I ever Heard, after war we had to flee, He bought another oud to make Peace again in our souls ❤️❤️❤️❤️
A very beautiful Instrument
Damn dude I'm glad you got out of the war zone, that's pretty harrowing to hear about.
Extra knowledge: The names of maqams are from cities or regions in the Middle East. For example, Nahawand is a city in Iran. Hijaz is a province in Arabian Peninsula.
It is interesting that in the Spanish music form Flamenco, there are also forms named after places, like Malagueñas, after Málaga, and Granainas, after Granada.
They are also forms influenced by the North African Muslim period of 711-1492.
Then again, the North Americans have Mississippi, New Orleans and Chicago forms of the Blues form :-)
He's trying to create fake history for Arabs. Oud was a Persian music instrument and not arabic
@@e.a297
You Persians just write poem don't chime in music. Otherwise I feel sick whenever I see your kitschy nationalistic comments :)
@@flamencoprof
The scales and forms take their names from residential areas in every music culture. In that case we shouldn't surprise.
@@e.a297
Your instrument nationalism is bullshit. For example, violin was invented in Italy but violin is the instrument of all nations. Several music cultures use violin.
Thank you for this beautiful video. I am Turkish and i actually live in Üsküdar, Istanbul :). We have a lot of shares with Arabian culture majorly heritage of The Ottoman Empire and i just love the way their music plays especially with the Ud (Oud). Feels so soft, satisfying and relieving to both playing and listening..
As a musician who's from the middle east, this is the coolest video I've seen because this is the true representation of oud. I like how he has so much knowledge about it, keep it up!
Edit: love from Iraq! 💜
I'll catch the occasion to ask you some suggestions about artists and genres of your country and near places.
I'm starting to "make the ear" in your sounds, my goal is amplify my repertoire and improvisation skills but also simple curiosity.
Sadly it's kinda difficult find significant contents and interesting artists if you're looking for them from Italy (Damn TH-cam logarithm ahah), I'll be very thankful for any help from you
@@lorenzodreo2268 I'm worst person to ask this to because I dont really keep up with arabic music. Butttt there are very famous people you should check out.
1.abdulhaleem hafith(old school)
2. Um kal thum (old school)
Hello Pokemon black and white protagonist.
@@lorenzodreo2268
Generally speaking classical music is favorited by most Arabs, especially Umm Kalthoum, Abdulhaleem Hafiz and Talal Maddah. Fairouz is relatively closer to western music, and most if not Arabs listen to her songs once or twice a week if not daily even till this day. The Rahbani Brothers, Wadih Al Safi, and Wardah are also good representatives of Arabic Classical Music. Modern music however lost most of it's Arabic tone and is now hardly distinguishable from other types of music around the world. That's why most of Arab teenagers nowadays prefer to listen to non-Arabic songs, however if you like to listen to some modern Arabic but quite good music, I suggest Assala, Elissa, Nassif Zaytoun, Adam, Hussein Al Jasmi, Hamza Numaira and Fadil Shaker.
@@lorenzodreo2268
You can also listen to kadim alsahir he is the best singer ever from Middle East and all of his songs are made of his melodies.
Fun fact: the Arabic root ع و د actually means to bend flexibly, to return after bending. The derived word oud عود means wood, but it also refers to supple, flexible strength. Something you need when playing the oud or any stringed instrument!
woud
@@leavewe عود *
@@leavewe 🤣
Greetings from Tunisia ♥
It's so nice to see such a beautiful instrument get some recognition in the west. Hope you visit us one day and do a show here ♥ This was a very special episode for me.
Agreed 😊
Thank you! I do plan to come to Tunis. My wife is French/ Tunisian :)
@@brandonacker Oh that's so cool. It would be very nice to meet you
Tunisia has its own fascinating oud variation!
You can recognize tunisian music in the video
This contributed to me buying an Oud for myself, I decided on a Turkish one, though. There are no local sellers so I got one online and it should arrive in September from Turkey! Wish me luck in learning, and thank you for introducing this wonderful instrument to me!
We need to know how it turned out!
@Abigail Orozco It turned out well! It actually showed up strung incorrectly which almost broke it, but after that little hiccup it went well! Im still learning, and I havent had much time to practice since Ive been working to save up for school, but yeah. Really cool to own and learn to be playing one!
@@thecatladytm7172 I'm so happy for you! I definitely love Arabic music culture, (maybe it has to do with Spanish blooded people being quite mixed with Arabs through history?) and I would love to try one in the future, even though it looks a bit scary to learn, haha! For now, I'm sticking to classical guitar. I wish you good luck with it, and with school too, for that matter :)
How is it going so far after one year?
As an Arabian that's a very good introduction to Oud, and your knowledge is impressive.
If you want to check famous Oud players check out Saudi singer named Abadi Al-Johar
, we call him (The octopus of Oud)
Fun fact:
That theme from Pulp Fiction is actually a 1962 surf rock classic by Dick Dale. It's called "Misirlou" and is actually an Easter Mediterranean folk song which Dale made a surf rock version of, so no wonder the Hijaz scale reminds you of it - it's arguable the most famous song based on the Hijaz scale! 🔥🔥🔥
The first part of the melody we can analyse in both western and eastern traditions. Jazz musicians would call it the 'double harmonic minor', but in the makam tradition we would say 'hicaz zirgüle' meaning you stack 2 hicaz tetrachords on top of each other. Ofcourse it has a specific 'seyir' or melodic progression with interchange of different tetrachords (cins) to define it as that 'flavor' or 'color'
I'm a huge Tarantion fan but I didn't know that one, thanks!
Your comment is everything that is right in the world, hats off for letting us know. I always felt like it had Arabic flair to it, but thought it was just a hunch. Glad to know my hunch was right.
Dick Dale’s real name was Richard Monsour. His father was Lebanese. I think his grandfather played the old. I think Misirlou is like an Egyptian belly dancing song.
It's also interesting to note that Dale is of Lebanese descent and that influenced him into reviving this piece.
A beautiful instrument presented by an equally beautiful man. Great video
nursena yener
He's cute af
Oh my freind .The Oud is an (Arabic) instrument, it is the first and oldest musical instrument in history . The saz is an (Kurdish) instrument, not turkish never at all . Many people think the saz instrument from turkish origin !!! this is a completely mistaken belief .
@Rose beautiful soul
@@N79417 you can feel the tension mounting. This may very well spark another kurdish-turkish war
i am from tunisia
and i am so surprised and happy that you know about the country because the majority stub me in the heart
by saying this "where is that!, is it in europe ?"
thank you brandon for mention it
you already put a smile on my face
i love you.
Of course! My wife is Tunisian/French so she introduced me to Halfouine :)
Cheers from Chicago,
Brandon
@@brandonackernow it's clear, that's why you know well about Tunisian Music culture and aboit Lotfi Bouchnak the Perormer of Halfawin
One of my fondest memories: listening to the oud in Sidi Bu Zayd
I have a friend from Tunisia, Mahrez Nouili
@@brandonacker In this case I would say that your judgment is a bit biased. Because it surprised me that you did not mention Mr. Alla one of the greatest master of Oud by far better than the names you mentioned. take a look th-cam.com/video/k02c6i7DIsc/w-d-xo.html
I really appreciate your respectful approach to the instrument and it's history. Your choice of phrases and inclusion of diverse names, as well as your humility in acknowledging how the different modality poses a challenge for you (rather than simply saying it sounds off) was really good.
Thank you for your docuseries on the Oud. My cousin was an Oudi, these beautiful instruments are custom made. The day he played Knights in White Satin on his Oud, I was blown away - he was playing western music on a middle-eastern instrument.
Knights in White Satin 🤣😂
Man, watching your video is wholesome! I really love your innocent reactions, they deliver the exact emotion of interest you are experiencing right now! As an Arab from Algeria, I like our traditional music and very proud that you had a topic about this instrument!
Some members of my family used to play the Oud, including my brother. It has such a distinctive, nostalgic sound to it.
I love the rare occasions when composers use it in their music to add an Arabian feel to it, it makes me happy.
Hi Tunisian here, i'm honoured that a very talented guy like you is discovering my musical culture and sharing it to the public, specially mentioning Anouar Brahem (انور براهم), and btw the tone you played at 9:11 is ريتك ما نعرف وين (Ritek ma naarf win) by Lotfi Bouchnak one of the greatest Tunisian musicians ever. you should check him out too :)
I’m very fond of Anouar Brahem’s album ’ Le pas du chat noir ’
I came to the comments section looking exactly for this comment ! Thank you
His wife is Tunisian
The hard work you put into learning hownto play and studying the history of these instruments never ceases to amaze me -- you go above and beyond any other string-player on TH-camr! ❤
Great Instrument .. i am playing Oud for 13 years now ... and i was waiting you to talk about it ... I really loved the way you introduce this magnificent instrument ... continue your study about it and master it ... Its not hard for a Musician like you ... the arabic maqams are a bit complicated ... but they are rich in emotions and feelings ... try to listen to Riad Sunbati , Simon Shaheen , Marcel Khalife and Ahmad Khatib ... i hope to see another video about the Oud from you.
Thanks
Greetings to all my Arab brothers from Persia. Arabic music has some magic in it which is beautiful
Nima Marashi Thank you ❤️🌹❤️
cool Farsi people, all love.
I wish middle eastern would unite more to accomplish more just like the golden age where Islam united us all.
I ve enough money in 2 months to order an oud, can’t wait to get my hands on. Hehe
@@nima-m_m hopefully brother, I wish you and all of Iran the best. This so called hate is not between the people, it's only the leaders who try to push us against each other. You're smart, you realized the truth early.
May Peace in middle east go brrrrrrrr
My dad plays oud(ud in turkish) and i love your presentation about it youre great elegant even majestic yet delicate
اشكرك من قلبي لصناعة هذه الحلقة المميزة جدا عن الة شرقية عريقة وهي الة العود واعجبت جدا بطرقة عزفك وادائك السلس لم اشعر للحظه ان من يقوم بالعزف ليس شرقيا...... شكرا مرة اخري وكل التمنيات بالتوفيق والنجاح
I’m actually impressed with your knowledge about the Oud and how much you know about the history of it. Comes from an Arabic guy specially...!
And Nassir Shama is a legend.!
Not since Bob Ross have I heard such a peaceful, humble, genuine soul speak.
Great playing man. I LOVE the melody in the last song at 9:21. You inspired me to want to play an Oud. Thank you
As an Arab i love and appreciate this video, thanks for introducing this marvelous instrument for some people who might not know it yet
I was amazed by a western musician that understands Maqams, and he had to play a Tunisian song at the end ! Impressive !!!!
As a Turkish person, hearing "Üsküdara Giderken" from you was very very deligtful. Thanks Brandon. I would really like to hear you play bağlama someday. It is also an instrument that is very common in Turkey and has a very unique sound. I think you would like it.
@@meletis1980 The way he played was actually good, no big difference between the original. Perhaps you can be more specific about what you ask
@@meletis1980i meletis you can search "Üsküdar'a gideriken" or "Katibim" that means while going through Üsküdar.
@@mehmetelen7435 this piece has different names all over the middle east, it is not inherently turkish
For just taking one lesson, you did such an incredible job capturing the emotions behind arabic music. Another good oud player is Farid El Atrache , he was a Syrian-Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor.
To make things clear Oud is one of the hardest instuments to learn and play for us Arab people who are already used to such oriental music and the fact the this guy is from a completely different music type that belongs to occidental world and he learned this instrument very quickly really ''Chapeau 🎩 bas '' bravo it shows how much you are into music
It's his superpower: all plucked instruments bow to him.
@@idraote Indeed ❤
As an Arab I am very impressed with the knowledge he has about the Oud and Arab music history KEEP IT UP MASHALLAH
As a Turkish citizen, this is the very first time that I see an oud withOUT any ornament on sound holes. But this guy is so nice and humble that I feel relaxed and learning at the same time listening to him.
It's looks to be a Syrian style oud by Ibriham Sukar... many of his ouds are not ornate. ouds with the oval sound holes tend to have no or minimal ornamentation.
@@MichaelJosephBurdiThis style is from the Iraqi school.
@@yogurt2497 Thats a Syrian oud by Sukar and I would bet money on it. Iraqi ouds are not fixed bridge, they are %90 floating bridge ouds now. This is a basic Sukar oud.
@@MichaelJosephBurdi yes I agree with you.
I was just pointing out the oval shaped holes, they are more common on Iraqi ouds.
Music in the Arabic culture is a very vital way to express almost each and every human feeling.. That's why it seems complicated in its basic structure but it gets much easier as you feel it and it surely represents your roots and where you come from. Actually the scales you mentioned are named after the places where they were either invented or mostly played.
The song you played 9:03 is a tunisian song called "ritek ma naaraf win"
" ريتك ما نعرف وين"
La chanson s'appelle "halfaouine" chère compatriote!
tounessssss
The oud is one of my favorite’s. I’ve heard live concerts in small clubs. Very inspiring. Ever since I find myself attempting similar melody and patterns on my guitar. Thank you for sharing your exploration back into this part of musical history.
Easy to see how "al-'oud" turned into the word "lute".
Jazz Guitar Noob as an oud player i never thought of that interesting
Definitely possible. Is it well established?
@@deldia I just looked it up and it is definitely true. From etymologyonline.com
"from Old French lut, leut (Modern French luth), from Old Provençal laut, a misdivision of Arabic al-'ud, the Arabian lute, literally "the wood" (source of Medieval Latin lutana, Spanish laud, Portuguese alaude, Italian liuto), where al is the definite article."
@Christiaan Baron: The lute was not particularly popular in Renaissance Spain because it was seen as the instrument of the enemy. Instead an instrument called the "vihuela" was very popular. It was guitar shaped (but I suspect it's internal structure was different to the guitar) and strung like a lute. Music for the vihuela can be played on the Renaissance lute.
that’s because, in spanish, lutes are called “laudes”, which is pronounced like oud. many spanish words come from arabic ones that have been “adapted” due to accents or are just straight up the same word (many people’s surname(s) are actually Arab words -like my first surname)
What a humble soul..God bless you my brother on your many journeys in the music/ life scales
Hey, i'm tunisian and a music student. I have to admit you you introuced the Oud perfectly. I loved how you improvised on the makams, specially Hijaz( مقام الحجاز). Btw, the song in end is called ريتك ما نعرف وين which translates to, i cant remember where i saw you, and Halfaouine is a place in Tunisia. The song originally is a poème wrote for a girl, and he just keeps mentioning all the places in Tunisia where the poet met her.
Here's the link for the song if anyone wondered: th-cam.com/video/bxTgRCZy45o/w-d-xo.html
thank you!
yarhem bouk aal comment
I saw a movie that I believe had this song as a theme in the background, of the same name Halfaouine? Based in Tunisia. Really nice music in that movie.
As a student.learning arabic music i am very impressed cos the oud is one of the hardest instrument for a lit of pepole and im happy that you shared your experience with us . Thank you
I always loved the sounds of the Middle-Eastern instruments. They have a characteristic to them that I can't really explain.
Thanks for making these fascinating videos, it makes me want to get one of these :) It's also interesting to note the influence this music had on Spanish music. And I love Anouar Brahem's Oud-Jazz fusion!
If you turn Oud upside-down then it makes a funny face.
@@BoopyTheFox :0
I would totally agree with you... Brandon, there is no other like you and your videos, thank you so much
I think I can hear an Anouar Brahem track in the back around 3:20 :)
Beware there are many ornamental Ouds on the market that aren't well made
Brandon! that music from pulp fiction is actually a folk song called Misirlou which translates to "Egyptian Girl" and was probably composed with the Oud in mind!
An instrument that speaks emotionally to one’s soul as one listens! What a great post that helps one play the Oud, along with it’s history. Thanks for sharing this informative post on such a beautiful instrument!
I really like that you mentioned Anouar Rahem. I heard his "Tunis at Dawn" on the radio a few years ago, and was completely stunned. You know, one of those pieces where you just stop everything you're doing to listen, and really focus on the piece and just be in awe. It's amazing, and I'd highly recommend giving it a listen. The track doesn't seem to be on youtube, but the album is called Souvenance. Definitely worth tracking it down!
this OUD can make one crazy i think this is the best Instrument ever
Love how peaceful and calming he was throughout the video 😌
I think this might just be one of his most soothing videos so far!
Thank you so much. My father brought me back an Oud from Saudi Arabia pre-internet times, and I knew nothing about it; just that it looked beautiful. This has brought it to life. Maybe I will have a go!
Want to learn more about the oud from an expert? My online school Arpeggiato is hosting a Zoom workshop with our expert oud teacher Ali live from Cairo, Egypt! You can join us on Feb. 5th. Checkout this link to learn more: Arpeggiato.com/events
Aftet the moorish conquest, Brandon ( being 20 that time ) had the chance to travel to Al-Andalus from his temporary home in Navarre, where he would meet his first Oud teacher, Ibn Saleh al-Maroq.
I do hope more vampires teach us about their knowledge from their past.
The way you talk is quite calming, like the painter/teacher Bob Ross but musician version
This is my first time watching any of your videos. Wallahi bravo habeebi you really did your homework about the oud.
I have been playing the Oud for over 30 years. It' beautiful and a very very emotional instrument, my favorite for sure. You sir as a beginner, I must say that you are handling it very well and playing it professionally . keep it up and you'll be a master one day.
Hey, just wondering how did you learn it? I just began to find interest in instruments such as the oud, it just gives me chills and makes me feel calm just by listening to it, so i always imagined what if i learnt how to play it. And I have no experience whatsoever in guitars or any instruments at all hehe😅
I actually learned it on my own believe it or not. I have a good ear to music. With lots of practice over the years I can replay just about any song I hear. I did learn how to read notes at one point but i never play notes when I play music it's all by ear. I watch how professional players play and try to learn from them. I did develop my own technique and I think you will too. Lastly, It depends on which music you listen too, the style of play varies from one country to another. Some of my favorite styles are the Egyptian , Turkish and Lebanese.
@@raym.4686 Thanks for replying Ray, wow i can't believe how musically talented you are, hopefully I'll be as good as you one day where i can just play any song simply by listening to it! Just asking because i really want to buy one, what company makes good oud?
The "pulp fiction theme" is also the same one used in the black eyed peas "pump it", its a eastern Mediterranean dance tune (likely Ottoman) called "Misirlou/Misirli/Misr" and tunes like it are pretty common in hip-hop circles. When I visited Egypt, Israel and Jordan in 2020 I heard it being played in multiple incarnations in their popular music and also their jazz.
This instrument produces such a beautifully resonant sound.
You're so talented when it comes to mastering tones and delivering emotions in a way that causes goosebumps, it caused my neurons to go into meltdown. The number of emotions you've incorporated into your creative improvisation is extraordinary. For a western person. you're also very talented when it comes to mastering the Maqams.
This video is a gem. Amazingly well told facts and music theory for different schools of music, a great instrument being showcased and beautifully played, even some amazing players suggested (now I listen to great oud players on YT instead of some mixes for background). I mean, if YT algorithm works well sometimes, then this is it.
1:27 Can definitely see the connection between al-ud and the spanish word for lute (laúd)
Very good observation
also the words "0ud" and "wood"
But you don't see the connection between lute and a loud? 😂
In portuguese it is called alaúde, it doesnt even seem to come from lute, it seem directly extracted from al'ud or al'oud :O
@@gabrielxavier2676 It's obvious to everyone that lute comes from ud.
I love this instrument, and I may use it on my new album. Thank you for this channel; it's learning I need.
You have presented the oud in a clear and correct way to people who do not know anything about the oud. It is clear that you have made a great effort in researching this information about the oud, well done
The influence of this instrument in Spain is immense. Listening to Flamenco, particularly the 'traditional' style of flamenco, the differences are so small between the Oud and the flamenco guitar (yes, there are differences between a classical guitar and a guitar used to play flamenco).
If you haven't watched it, take a look at the film Vengo.
In Tunisia (where the piece Halfaouin is from and when Oud is a beloved instrument ) artists like Hedi Jouini were heavily influenced by Flamenco as well and they interpreted those melodies using Oud and Kanoun... A song by him that I would love to recommend and where the influence is obvious is "Lamouni Elli Gharou Menni" or "Hobek Yetbadal Yetjaded" ..
the arabic sounding music always makes me picture being on some crazy long journey across the desert on a camel in full garb
that's Hollywood effect
I love the sound that comes out of the Oud. Arabic music has such a romantic sound to it... I think the Half Fats have such a classic Arabic sound... Now I'm going to run out and buy a bunch of Arabic CD's ;-)
I play classical guitar myself, but those songs scales/patterns produced by that Arabic Oud, played by you and songs by Anouar Braheem as suggested by you, are really take my mind to another world, very different from what i learnt, and yet very beautiful
he was impressed by the oud imagine now he finds out about the kanoun
😂😂😂😂 راح يتجنن
He would fall in love with it
Guy professionally plays the theorbo for god's sake, people who play theorbo are a true rarity, let alone people who even know it are also a rarity.
And here you are talking about Kanoun.
Qanun, santur, santoor and dulcimer are from the same family with a great resemblance to harp to an awful extent, and this eliminates the surprise factor to be honest.
@@mozarth jesus just chill
@@mozarth booboo chill, i just want him to review it. i get what you're saying but after all everyone likes it when someone from other culture reviews your culture.
Halfaouine is actually a neighborhood in Tunis in the old part of the city. I'm Tunisian and the interpretation of this piece by Lotfi Bouchnak (Tunisian artist) is very famous.
You should come and visit Tunis 😉.
I look forward to coming to Tunis. My wife is Tunisian/French. :)
@@brandonacker so now i understood how you played halfaouine that good hahahha
Adnen Ben Youssef Not to mention the movie by the same name by Tunisian director Ferid Boughedir. I believe the Halfaouine piece that Brandon plays also is featured in the movie, played by Anouar Brahem.
halfaouine is a very famous old neighborhood in tunis and the music is timeless
Brandon, I must give you a shoutout to you and thank you generously for opening my ears, heart, and soul to this wonderful instrument! Oh yea, love that one you just ordered too!
im moroccan and my uncle often played the oud at family reunions and stuff, makes me nostalgic ☺️ he always made it seem so effortless, i never knew how complex playing it really is!!
I am loving your series "introducing". Please do Afghan Rubab as well!
مقام also means
"Station"
Its true meaning can be seen in hyperbolic geometry. In the hyperbolic 2D circle, there's a center circle from which all of the other patterns branch off of squeezing towards the edges of the circle, yet this center pattern is repeated all the way down. All the circles look the same but are not this circle. This center circle is "the maqam" of these circles, the station
And they're all the maqam relative to the circles around each circle
The Halfaouine is a place in Tunis the capital of Tunisia , the music Halfaouine is from the movie " Asfour Stah " or " Child of the Terraces" a great movie and a beutiful music of Anouar Brahem ... thank you for remind me of these unforgettable years.
I used to play it back in Egypt for years. Thank you for introducing it. The Spanish people put the frets cause they couldn’t stand the quarter tone of the middle eastern music lol (even though it’s awesome and has been proven it triggers great happiness hormones in the brain similar to weed). I am now evolved to guitar cause I live in Seattle WA :)
That’s probably not true. You hear a lot of microtones in more traditional Spanish music like flamenco. Frets just change certain things like it’s much easier to finger chords.
Sorry, what source can you provide in regards to microtones triggering neurotransmitter production similar to cannabinoids?
@@matthewnabilthe cannabis is the source
As I’m in Saudi Arabia, the Oud I hear always plays Arabic sounding music. When you play, I hear English sounding music which is very weird, but unique and nice.👍🏻
Any suggestions for some oud-artist more "orthodox" ?
@@lorenzodreo2268 Ahmed Fathi
Simon Shaheen
Muneer Bashir
Farid Alatrash
Abadi Aljohar
Naseer Shamma
Charbel Rohana
Marcel Khalifa
Among so so many.. take a dive and enjoy 🙏🏼
@@qumbe7la great ones, I really like them, expecially "Dawn" (Rag Kirwani/Maqam Nahawand) by Simon Shaheen and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, thanks 👍🏻
I think it is a mutual thing, I could see how the Western style of music sounds very odd, just as I find arabic music to sound odd as well.
Hey Jaffar,
Is Harmonium also played in Arabic music ?
Or anything similar which have reeds ?
Playing like this an oud and saying that you're a newbie... You must be the most humble man on earth ! Thanks for the video, I am playing bass for more than 40 years, the oud is a instrument I really love, I think I will get one of these days, there are cheaper arabic oud available in Germany just to start with, an excellent choice around 350€ / $500.
An excellent presenting video, your low volume and calm voice with the beautiful sound of music made the video just fantastic. I felt the need for more even though the video had end.
Your love and excitement for instruments and music in general is more contagious than coronavirus