The oud, like most instruments, can be used to play a wide variety of types of music. I play folk music on it a lot. I use it for medieval music, original tunes, British Isles song accompaniment, the occasional Turkish or Bulgarian tune, French dance tunes. And like most instruments, a moderate level of accomplishment can still sound good, if you stick to what you can play well. It's not as hard as the fiddle to make good sounding music on. I was a little afraid the first time I took it on stage, but I just kept telling myself not to fret . . . .

There are a couple of instruction books available. I work for a company in Seattle called Dusty Strings that operates an acoustic music store. I've seen the books there, although I haven't looked inside them. Ron Reed who works there would probably be the most knowledgeable about them. You could email him if you want more info.

John Peekstok