E-A-B-E-A-D

• OVERVIEW •

The Turkish oud (fretless lute) can take many different tunings. Often, the highest four courses (string-doubles) are set to B-E-A-D, while the deepest two tend to be set bespoke for the makam (melodic framework) in question (n.b. Also see my transposition of a common Arabic Oud tuning: E-A-D^b-G^b-B-E).

 

This layout is one way of ‘guitarifying’ the Turkish oud’s tuning concept, by retaining Standard‘s E & A tones down low – use them for easy access to droning, percussive tones in the 6str E key. Pleasingly narrow, with several internal symmetries and an easy geometric familiarity: the altered-string sequence creates a guitar-like circle of 4ths (4>3>2>1str). Try it on a 12-string (or a fretless guitar) for extra oud points…

Pattern: 5>2>5>5>5

Harmony: E7(sus4) | 1-4-5-1-4-b7

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

Assaf Kassel’s Arab Instruments blog discusses the differences between Turkish and Arabic ouds: “The sound of [the Turkish] oud is high, sharp, and its weight is light. It is smaller than the Arabic Oud…[and] the face…is thin, which makes its voice [clearer]”. The higher tone helps it ring distinct in ensemble settings, and the shorter scale length enables a fluid, dexterous style, full of imaginative, vocalistic movements which make full use of the instrument’s fretless capabilities.

 

n.b. While the most common Turkish tuning is in fact ‘C#-F#-B-E-A-D’ – i.e. this with 6+5str lowered 3 frets as well – I decided to include this ‘E-A-B-E-A-D’ tweak instead: mainly because the standard is just ‘Arabic Oud +2’. Also, the run of consecutive 4ths (‘B-E-A-D’) is traditionally the ‘fixed’ component, while the lowest string pair can be set according to the particularities of the music in question. (n.b. If you want to match the ‘main’ Turkish tuning, try capo’ing Arabic Oud at 2fr: which, on a usual-size guitar, also gives a scale length close to the ~58cm of the Turkish Oud.)

 

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• Kapris – Şerif Muhiddin Targan & Osman Nuri Özpekel (~1960s):

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“Other than the Jewish, Armenian, and Greek composers of Istanbul, Arab musicians also contributed a great deal to Ottoman court music…Little of [Targan’s] music was recorded. However, it was enough to show his progressive and reformist attitude…to blend Western harmony and melodies with Ottoman themes…” (Hakan Arslanbenzer)

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For a sampling of the region’s finest oud players, check out traditional masters such as Şerif Muhittin Targan (1892-1967: an early multi-regional fusioneer), Yorgo Bacanos (1900-1977: famous for mixing in melodic concepts from his Greek heritage), and Udi Hrant Kenulian (1901-1978: renowned for introducing altered tunings and fresh picking techniques). And from the modern generation, Necati Celik, Ara Dinkjian, Yurdal Tokcan, and many more.

 

Also read about the all-too-hidden lives of female oud players in the fantastic She Shreds article In the Hands of Women: The Tradition and Transformation of the Oud: “In the Ottoman world during the 18th and 19th centuries, women were not only encouraged to play the oud, it was more or less associated with their gender…[while] it was a tool of social classification by patriarchal norms, there were a handful of instances where women broke through the systemic method and made a name for themselves through their music…”.

 

These female pioneers include Armenian-Ottoman Mary Goshtigian, who took her oud skills to North America in the inter-war period. And Fatma Aliye Hanim’s 1898 novel Udi (‘The Oud Player’), recounts the tale of “Bedia…a woman who uses her oud as a means of resistance against the hell of patriarchy, as well as the storms and great hardships of life. After the death of her father and the divorce from her unfaithful husband, her oud becomes her most loyal and reliable friend”.

 

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• The Invisible Love – Ara Dinkjian (2018):

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“Record companies love popular trends…’new age’ music was very popular, and they thought my music was ‘New Age’. Naturally, I did not enter into an argument with them. Now they see my music as ‘world music’, ‘world beat’, or ‘ethno-pop’. These are categories the music world makes up, not the musicians. Duke Ellington rejected the term ‘jazz’…He said that ‘this is the music of my people’. I too am saying this…” (Ara Dinkjian)

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• NUMBERS •

	6str	5str	4str	3str	2str	1str
Note	E	A	B	E	A	D
Alteration	0	0	-3	-3	-2	-2
Tension (%)	0	0	-29	-29	-21	-21
Freq. (Hz)	82	110	123	165	220	294
Pattern (>)	5	2	5	5	5	–
Semitones	0	5	7	12	17	22
Intervals	1	4	5	1	4	b7

• See my Tunings Megatable for further such nerdery: more numbers, intervallic relations, comparative methods, etc. And to any genuine vibratory scientists reading: please critique my DIY analysis!

• RELATED •

—Associated tunings: proximities of shape, concept, context, etc…

• Oud (Arabic): the larger oud sibling, stretching further West
• Bağlama: another fascinating lute from Turkey’s folk traditions
• All Fourths: as if you’re continuing the pattern from 3>2>1str

• MORE INFO •

—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…

• Turkish instruments: listen to some of the region’s other folk instruments: including the Baglama/Saz (3-course lute), kemençe (bowed ‘Black Sea fiddle’), kanun (plucked zither with 66 nylon strings), kaval (‘shepherd’s flute’), ney (oblique rim-blown flute), and darbuka (hand-played goblet drum)
• Oud variants: aside from Turkish traditions, there are other global oud designs – also check out the Persian oud (also called the barbat in Iran), and the Arabic oud (larger and deeper): of which there are several sub-variants, including Syrian, Egyptian, and Iraqi models

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Header image: one of Joe Dusepo‘s Turkish-design ouds