Late night oud improvisation. Oud taqasim in Maqam Nahawand. Taqasim is a melodic improvisation based on the Maqam (modal) system in Arab and Turkish music. Professor Ali Jihad Racy one said that taqsim should be a combination of tradition and innovation. I try to always remember this concept, and feel free to push myself to experiment, allowing the music to flow as freely as possible, while still keeping the traditional melodic paths in mind (Sayre in Arabic).


This Egyptian oud was made by Georges Gamil, and I purchased it from the maker in Cairo in 2001. It is tuned CFADGc from low to high. The strings are Labella (Turkish set) and the plectrum (Risha) is made from ox horn. Normally Labella strings have served me well, however, this set has been giving me some problems; one of the G strings is out of tune past the third position, and one of the high c strings has been constantly going out of tune, so I'll have to restring it and try again.

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