The English word lute, which derives from the Spanish laud, originally came from the Arabic al-'ud, literally meaning 'branch of wood.' Between the eighth and tenth cen turies, the 'ud had only four strings; a fifth was added by Zitiab, the famous Andalusian performer, and a sixth later on in the fifteenth century. Shaped like half a pear with a short fretted neck, the 'ud is a six courses of two-strings instrument played with a plectrum - often a trimmed eagle's feather - producing a deep and mellow sound Virtuosos across the Middle East refer to it as 'the King of all instruments.'

Barbat: Is a very important instrument in the course of the history of Persian music. The ud seems to be of Iranian origin and is the barbat of the pre-Islamic era. It was taken by the Arabs and with its Arabic name, ud, was introduced into Europe to become the famous Lute, so popular during the renaissance. Is a short necked with pear-shaped body and is played with plectrum. It normally has five courses of two strings tuned mainly in fourths, without frets.

Ten instrument to oud. Jest to bardzo popularny instrument w krajach islamskich, wystêpuje w wielu odmianach, grano na nim od wczesnego ¶redniowiecza po dzi¶ dzieñ, z niego to wywodzi siê europejska lutnia. Poni¿ej adres jednej ze stron, gdzie znajdziesz zdjêcia i fragmenty muzyki granej na oud: www.mikeouds.com

Spelling  

How to write the name of this instrument? On the Internet I saw Oud, Oude, Outi, Aud, Aoud, Ud, Ûd and 'Ud. Although the spelling Oud is the most widespread, I prefer the spelling Ud, because in the countries were it is traditionally played the spelling Ud is more common, also because I like the short word, and also because in Dutch the word "oud" (pronounced as "aud") means "old". This causes a lot of miss-hits to Dutch sites if you search the Internet with just the keyword "oud". (You will also find many pages about Belgian beer: "Oud bruin" ("old brown") is one of hundreds of Belgian beer types.) On the other hand, if you search the Internet with just the keyword "ud", you will find lots of pages related to universities.
Note that the Encyclopedia Britannica uses the spelling 'ud, whereas in the Library of Congress Classification the spelling oud is preferred.

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