Listen to the oud
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the oud makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the oud belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
The oud is a Middle Eastern short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument (a chordophone in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification of instruments), usually with 11 strings grouped in six courses, but some models have five or seven courses, with 10 or 13 strings respectively.
The oud is similar to other types of lute, and to Western lutes which developed out of the Medieval Islamic oud. Similar instruments have been used in the Middle East, some predating Islam, such as the barbat from Persia. Different versions of the oud are used in Arabia, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern and Balkan regions. The oud, as a fundamental difference with the western lute, has no frets and a smaller neck. It is the direct successor of the Persian barbat lute. The oldest surviving oud is thought to be in Brussels, at the Museum of Musical Instruments.
Other lutes
More instruments from Egypt
Frequently asked questions
What does an oud sound like?
Listen to 5 recordings on this page. As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the oud?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.321-6).
Where does the oud come from?
The oud originates from Egypt.
Sources & credits
- OUD by Houssem bettaibi – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Oud music by Andy R. Jordan 1V2 short by Andy R. Jordan – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Oud music by Andy R. Jordan 1V2 short by Andy R. Jordan – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Oud music by Andy R. Jordan 2v2 by Andy R. Jordan – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Oud music by Andy R. Jordan 2v2 by Andy R. Jordan – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q191000 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Oud – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Creator:Manol (Emmanuel Venios) – CC0 1.0