Feb 26
Honestly, the first time I heard of an oud, I had no clue what it was, let alone that it was an instrument. If I had to classify it, I would call it a middle eastern guitar, but that is far from a fair comparison. Even though it is shaped kind of like a fat guitar and is held the same way, it is really different. It actually has 10 strings which are 5 separate pairs, which can make it a challenge to tune. And it does not use a normal pick, but instead uses one that is much longer and thinner and encouraged more plucking than anything. The sound it produces is similar to that of a guitar, but the strings are much easier to manipulate to and to bend the sound it produces.