Oud

The oud is a short-necked, fretless lute whose body is built from thin wooden ribs. With no frets, the player finds the fine intervals of makam music freely with the fingers. The strings are plucked with a plectrum once made from an eagle feather, now usually plastic.

One of the oldest instruments of the East, the oud passed to Europe and became the ancestor of the lute. In Ottoman court music and the fasıl ensemble it played alongside the tanbur, ney, kanun and kemençe.

In the 20th century masters such as Şerif Muhiddin Targan and Cinuçen Tanrıkorur made it a solo concert instrument. Today the oud is played from Istanbul to Baku and from Cairo to Baghdad.