The Oud Performance Program is a comprehensive one-year online course consisting of 20 individual lessons, designed to guide students through a progressive journey from technical proficiency to artistic maturity. Whether students are discovering the oud for the first time or seeking to refine their performance at an advanced level, the program provides a structured learning path tailored to each individual’s goals, experience, and musical background.

As one of the most influential instruments in the Arabic musical tradition, the oud offers a unique balance between expressive freedom and technical precision. Throughout the program, students explore the instrument through a holistic approach that combines performance skills, maqam studies, rhythmic understanding, ear training, improvisation, repertoire, and musical interpretation. Equal emphasis is placed on developing confident technique, refined listening skills, and an authentic artistic voice.

Beginner
The first stage focuses on building essential technical habits and musical awareness. Students learn correct posture, tuning, risha control, left-hand positioning, finger coordination, and tone production while becoming familiar with the instrument’s layout. Simple melodies, introductory maqamat, basic rhythmic patterns, and listening exercises are gradually introduced, allowing students to develop solid musical foundations from the very beginning.

Pathway I
As students gain confidence, the course expands their technical vocabulary and musical understanding. Lessons explore a wider range of maqamat, rhythmic diversity, expressive articulation, ornamentation, and position changes across the fingerboard. Repertoire becomes increasingly varied, while guided improvisation encourages students to move beyond written notation and begin expressing musical ideas with greater freedom and stylistic awareness.

Pathway II
The final stage is dedicated to artistic refinement and professional musicianship. Students work on advanced repertoire, sophisticated phrasing, complex maqam transitions, and highly developed improvisation. Through the study of historical recordings, stylistic analysis, and performance interpretation, they deepen their understanding of the different schools of oud playing while cultivating a distinctive personal style grounded in the aesthetics of Arabic music.

Rather than following a fixed syllabus for every student, the program adapts to each learner’s pace and aspirations. Every lesson integrates technical development with musical expression, ensuring that students not only acquire the necessary skills to perform confidently but also develop a deeper appreciation of the artistic and cultural heritage embodied by the oud.

Teaching Languages:

• Arabic
• English