The 7 Oud Players You Need to Listen to Now

05/13/19 • 18 min

We’re huge fans of the Oud – a fretless pear-shaped instrument that’s similar to a lute and known as “the grandfather of the guitar”. We love the dynamics and microtonal flexibility it affords players – not being restricted to frets can be liberating and offers so much in terms of tone and sound that you simply can’t get anywhere else! Especially when it’s in non-Middle Eastern contexts. We’ve compiled a list of 7 notable oud players you need to listen to if you’re just getting to know the instrument.

Topics Include:

Discussion of TAQS.IM's blog entry for the "7 oud players you need to listen to" post
Purpose to raise awareness and promote education on these influential musicians
Philadelphia roots
George Mgrdichian - fusion and classical expertise
John Berberian - role as musician who was the son of immigrants
Yurdal Tokcan - prominent Turkish oud player and fretless guitar
Farid el Atrache - famous Arab oud player and actor/singer
Simon Shaheen - virtuosic Palestinian concert player
Ara Dinkjian - globally renown oud player and composer
Naseer Shamma - influential Kurdish oud player
The list is only of 7 oud players, there are so many others that could have been included
It's a good approach to listen to as many different players as possible to appreciate all the different styles

Topics Include:

Discussion of TAQS.IM's blog entry for the "7 oud players you need to listen to" post
Purpose to raise awareness and promote education on these influential musicians
Philadelphia roots
George Mgrdichian - fusion and classical expertise
John Berberian - role as musician who was the son of immigrants
Yurdal Tokcan - prominent Turkish oud player and fretless guitar
Farid el Atrache - famous Arab oud player and actor/singer
Simon Shaheen - virtuosic Palestinian concert player
Ara Dinkjian - globally renown oud player and composer
Naseer Shamma - influential Kurdish oud player
The list is only of 7 oud players, there are so many others that could have been included
It's a good approach to listen to as many different players as possible to appreciate all the different styles

Previous Episode

Your Gateway to Middle Eastern Sound

Welcome to the first episode of the TAQS.IM Middle Eastern Music Podcast, which discusses playing, performing and appreciating Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, Balkan, Greek, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish music and more.

Topics Include:

Introduction to the TAQS.IM podcast with Andrew Kzirian and Aram Hovagimian of TAQS.IM, focusing on Middle-Eastern music
TAQS.IM is your gateway to Middle Eastern sound
Background and discussion of the TAQS.IM project and the meaning of the term musically and figuratively
Overview of the 3 main TAQS.IM elements of community, sounds and education
TAQS.IM's free radio station featuring various artists and different styles of music
TAQS.IM's blog posts which discuss various topics in Middle-Eastern music and the newsletter
TAQS.IM's synth sounds and libraries
TAQS.IM music and rhythm app for iPad (iPhone coming soon with scale converter)
One man band discussion about Khatchig Jingirian
Sample libraries are already available
TAQS.IM is working on new recordings for sample libraries moving forward (i.e. the oud)
TAQS.IM offers instructional videos for oud lessons

Next Episode

John Berberbian: Oud Master

Andrew sits down and interviews Oud master John Berberian about his life, 50-year career in music, balancing work and the arts and performing throughout the country.

Topics Include:

Working with record labels making albums with Mainstream Records, Verve Forecast, RCA and MGM starting in the early 1960s
The thriving Middle Eastern music scene of Berberian's early years, and the mixing and collaboration of different cultures
Berberian's father's role as an oud player in his musical development, and the initial design to start with the violin
Using western classical approaches to play Middle Eastern music
The comparison of Ravi Shankar and the Sitar to the industry effort to promote the oud
The landmark oud rock album
Berberian's love of Arab music
Discussion of different types of oud playing
The symbiotic relationship of the oud and the guitar and making music with these instruments together
Advice to those learning the oud