There are also several universities named UD.

The oud, 'oud or ud is a small, pear-shaped, stringed musical instrument, still in use in many Arabic cultures such as that of Egypt. Regarded as a precursor to the European lute, its name is derived from the Arabic word for Wood which is probably the name of tree the Oud was made from. (Al-'ud became 'lute'.)

The Oud is not fretted and was and still is used by many arabic composers for composition.

Live performances don't rely heavily on Oud, for another instrument the Qanoun can produce similar sound and is more pragmatic, mainly because of its ability to produce wider range of sounds and with higher amplititudes.

The oud's features are similar to the guitar: a sound box, five to eight pairs of strings (except the lowest string which is usually just a single string) which are called Awtar (singular watar), a shorter neck (relative to the guitar) called al-raqeba, at least one hole (Some have several) called Al-qamaria, a bridge called al Ghazala, and keys for tuning the strings called mafateeh. The bridge and the strings are attached to the instrument in a similar fashion to the flamenco or classical guitar, i.e. knotted at the bridge. The soundbox of the oud is parabolic or pear shaped, that is, it doesn't have a straight back like the guitar.

The pick for the oud is usually about the length of an index-finger, and is called the reeshe or risha. Traditionally it is made from a bird's feather (thus the name; usually an ostrich feather), but these days plastic picks are more often used.

The oud is very famous in Arab countries due to the fact that it's easy to improvise on the oud, unlike other instruments which either require accompaniment or are too complex to play.

The oud was introduced into Europe by Zyriab, where it evolved into the lute and ultimately the guitar which we know today.

Well known oud players include Munir Bashir, Farid al-Atrache, and Rabih Abou-Khalil.

External Links

• Oud http://i-cias.com/e.o/oud.htm on Encyclopedia of the Orient
• The Ud (Oud), its players and recordings http://www.xs4all.nl/~gregors/ud/
• Hub of Oud links http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute/oud.html on Wayne Cripps' lute site.
• Oud Forum http://www.arabicouds.com