For our students and experienced oud players at this stage—whether performing on stage or playing as a hobby at home—they’ve reached a point where they’ve put in many hours of training, received coaching, listened to feedback on their practice, and studied case studies through etudes and compositions.
No matter your profession, musical background, or talent—by practicing the same methods we’ve taught to today’s best oud players at the School of Oud Online—you can gain the skills to play any song you want, perform on stage if you choose, and even join our growing team of instructors to teach these methods yourself.
Learning the oud—its fundamentals, skills, and etudes—can lead you to play any song and reach any level you wish.
Oud education and the skills you need to succeed—whether it’s for performing on stage, playing for your family, personal growth, meditation, composing, or even making the oud your career. To reach these goals, you’ll need to build the following skills and foundations:
Music Foundations for Mastering the Oud
Technique
It’s the expression—the grammar of music—the way of pronouncing and explaining a composition to truly express yourself. This takes time and dedicated modules to build. Technique is what sets one player apart from another: how fast, how precise, and how full their playing is. It also shows in the dynamics—like the difference between downstrokes, upstrokes, or freestyle picking and striking.
Sheet Music
Reading music is a complete skill. Even if you’re not an oud player, it’s important to learn how music is written—it’s the written language of music. Whether you’re young or old, advanced or just starting out, learning to read sheet music should happen at the right time during your journey. Sadly, sheet music is often neglected, but it’s essential.
Playing by ear
It’s another skill—completely separate but just as important as reading sheet music. For any musician aiming for the best quality training, ear training is essential. Even after years of reading and writing music, you still need to develop your ears, strengthen your musical memory, and be able to play without relying on sheet music.
Music Theory
This is the math of music—where numbers and intervals come together to form the foundation of music education. It includes the Circle of Fourths, sharps and flats, the spaces between notes, and harmony. All of it is connected, and it plays a key role in understanding how music works.
The Maqam
The Maqam system is the framework that shows you which notes to play—and which ones not to. With hundreds of mixed messages out there about the Maqam system, it’s important to focus on one clear, simple angle to truly learn and understand it.
Oud Literacy
There are specific techniques needed for playing the oud—such as down-ups, Fardash, butterfly techniques, rhythmic picking patterns like UDDU, UUDU, and UDU, hanging strings, and more. These techniques are essential to master the oud and express the music fully.
As Ramy Adly says:
“Technique is what brings your sound to life. It’s how you turn a simple note into music that moves people.”
How do you develop these skills on the oud?
1 – Studying in the Online Certificate Program at the School of Oud Online
- Learn at Your Own Pace
We usually follow the practices on our materials with this methodology
How to Develop These Skills on the Oud
1.Practice in layers – Start with the basics: how to hold the oud, tune it properly, and feel confident with down and up strokes.
2.Practice weekly – Even just one hour a week can make a fantastic difference over time and help you reach real results.
3.Do it wrong first – There’s no “perfect” in music, only progress. At the School of Oud Online, we follow the 4Ts Method: Time, Technique, Tunes, and Tempo. Focus on one technique at a time—like Fardash, butterfly, or rhythmic patterns—until it becomes natural.
4.Use a slow tempo – Start slow, then gradually increase speed as your accuracy improves.
5.Follow a clear method – Use a proven curriculum, like the one at School of Oud Online, to build your skills step by step.
6.Get feedback – ASK A LOT. Ask your instructor always to give weekly corrections to keep you on track.
7.Always move forward – We don’t repeat the same session or stay stuck on one etude. Each time, you learn something new. That’s what sharpens your hand and builds real progress.
Why Take the Certificate Program at the School of Oud Online?
What Our Students Are Saying
With over 1,000 students through the years enrolled in the School of Oud Online programs, here’s what they’ve experienced:
•Their technique develops 7x faster compared to hobby oud players taking in-person lessons.
•They reach 98% note accuracy using the School of Oud Online methodology.
•90% of students report playing with greater confidence.
•75% of students become more skilled in maqam recognition, playing by ear, and sight-reading than most classically trained musicians.
About The School of Oud Online Programs:
Oud For Sale – The Ultimate Guide
Arabic Oud Instrument that we recommend to buy
There are four types of Oud instruments. The Turkish Oud, the Iraqi Oud, the Arabic Oud, and the Electric Oud. All of the other types of Ouds are branch out from the four main types.
Beginner Ouds
Beginner ouds are sold for about $400-$1000. The different tiers of pricing reflect the differences in wood quality and how long the oud will last. The measurement of the ouds and the secrets of the bridges are underneath the face of the oud. The measurement of the oud will have a big impact on you when you’re learning to learn. When you practice on an ouf you get used to putting your hands in the same place. So when you look for a new oud you need to find the same measurements. There are commercial Ouds everywhere, but which one of them is the best oud for you to start?
With hundreds and hundreds of oud students who apply daily, we advise as much as we can on which oud is good for beginners. Here is a selection of some ouds to consider.
Categories of Oud Instruments
It is good to start with a great instrument at the beginning. Instruments are not like cars. So it is not ideal to start with a bad car so if you crash you don’t lose a lot. The oud instrument is more like a person that lives with you and its sounds find a place in your heart. Picking a good oud instrument front the beginning is absolutely a good idea. When I was 16 years old, I studied the ouds and I always wondered if my problems were because of me or the oud? We have always found that good quality ouds make it easier for our students to learn. Below is a selection of Oud instruments that School of Oud Online recommends.
The strings of the oud are an important factor. The strings of an oud instrument that are measured by the hours of practicing. For example some springs last for 24 hours and last for 100 hours. Choosing a good type of string is another important factor of playing the instrument. The resonance, the shape, and streigns are all factors that can change the sound dramatically. Sometimes you can install a type of strings that ruin the sound of the oud and even sometimes it ruins the oud itself. Some strings can completely destroy the face of the oud within a month of being installed.
Adding strings to your oud is very simple and essential. Choosing the strings is choosing the voice of the instrument. If you can afford a professional oud from the beginning, it’s even better. There are students who love the Oud instruments that are custom built for them. The students spend 3 weeks waiting for the oud but this is the oud of their lives. They will play the custom for the next 10-30 years. The oud makers will perfectly complete all the factors of the oud that require time, experience, effort, choosing the material, etc.
Here are some of the suggested Ouds that we recommend
Categories of Oud Instruments
Early 2021, we introduced to the world the best Oud marketplace that allows students, professionals, and soloists to have the best ouds with 1 year of support to help them with any issues. Usually platforms online offer the products period. Yet the new company, Oudinstrument.com covers this problem, since we believe in ouds and helping the oud industry to grow rapidly in the next 10 years.
Oud details
The Iraqi Oud
The secrets of the Iraqi Oud originated in ancient mesopotamia. The Iraqi oud instrument has a history of clear, sharp, and strong sounds. The soloist Iraqi oud is used by players such as naseer shamma, munir bushir, and students of the Iraqi school of oud. With a 66.3 cm length and a shorter neck the Iragqi oud is perfect for soloists, made with the secrets that correct makers who inherited these measurements from their ancestors have created ouds form ramy adly, naaseer shamma, and many oud players in the 21 st century.
Arabic Oud Instrument
Arabic Oud , Egyptian Oud and Syrian Oud instrument have the same common sounds
The arabic oud is considered the face of the oreitnal music, known more in Egypt, as the King of Musical instruments. Built by important egyptpian oud makers who don’t have any online presence. But the secrets always remain with the best. Who live in the streets of Cairo. Who keeps the secrets of the bridges hidden between their tools and it’s not for the public. Yet we’re glad that we have a great relationship with them for over 10 years and the results have never disappointed.
Turkish Musical Oud
Turkish Ouds looks beautiful and sounds beautiful
The turkish oud became the most famous oud since the 90s. The enthusiasm and techniques for the turkish oud makers are what make the beauty of the turkish ouds. As an instrument it has a deep sound good for oriental songs, moorish spiritual songs, and deeper sound melodies.
The tuning of a turkish oud is also different from other ouds. It is one and a half tones less than the other ouds. For example, the C string for an Arabic Oud is an A string on a Turkish Oud.
Finally we do offer special Ouds for our students, professional Ouds made for them with correct measurement and spacial discount for our students.
Here is where to find important Ouds all have specifications and inspections OudInstrument.com
Following his early oud lessons, Adly relates, he studied intensively at the Arabic Oud House, a music school in Cairo, while pursuing a business degree at Assiut University, in his home town. He later worked as a music lecturer.
Also on Adly’s résumé: a busy teaching regimen via Skype. His School of Oud Online has reached fledgling players in at least 27 countries, including Norway, he says. Now that he is living in the Washington area, he dreams of founding a brick-and-mortar oud school.
“I’d love to add this instrument to American history,” he says.
On Aug. 28, noted oud player Ramy Adly appeared on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC. The purpose of his performance was “to introduce the West to the oud” and to the beautiful sounds of this 4,000-year-old instrument. To showcase the oud for an American audience, Adly even performed a rendition of “Amazing Grace,” which while beautiful, felt slightly forced. He excelled most in musical styles for which the oud is most known, but the range of styles he was able to showcase can be viewed as an invitation to incorporate the oud into genres that may overlook the versatility of this ancient stringed instrument.
This interview talks about Ramy Adly’s concert at the Kennedy Center. Radio Sawa interviewed Adly on his project, as one of the best musical projects of the Oud instrument in the world and talks about his band and his compositions. Ramy Adly released his album, “Mirage” at the concert.
This year’s event was attended by 600 guests, represented officials from the World Bank, Congress, U.S. Department of State, diplomats and Arab-American communities and organizations. While enjoying Egyptian oud player and composer Ramy Adly and international Syrian Opera singer Lubana Al Quntar mesmerized the crowd with music and song.
Ramy Adly starts his interview of talking about his childhood and his beloved Oud that he found at his family’s house in Assuit, Egypt. He headed to Cairo to learn more about the Oud instrument at the Arab Oud House, taught by Naseer Shamma. After Ramy’s successful graduation concert, he started his career of teaching the Oud at the world famous Alexandria Library. He has traveled studying the performing arts in Hawaii, USA and finally established his School of Oud Online based in Washington, D.C.
Dr.Ramzi Salti talks to Ramy Adly and his musical talents featuring his song, “Alexandria,” of Solo Oud.
