This page serves as temporary point of reference while our comprehensive digital platform is under development.
This page serves as temporary point of reference while our comprehensive digital platform is under development.
The Oud House was founded by Maestro Naseer Shamma in Egypt in 1999. Its success stems from producing distinguished musicians who possess high artistic skills and cultural depth.
At The Oud House, Maestro Naseer Shamma leads a journey to spread the art of the oud, making it a unique venue for anyone seeking to discover the performance of oud and the artistic expression through it.
The Oud House aims to revive the oud both as an instrument and as craft. It graduates students capable of engaging with music in all its dimensions: performance, teaching, critique, and composition.
It prepares oud soloists to meet internationally recognized standards, providing them with music theory classes, general musical knowledge, and performance techniques from various musical schools, notably Eastern, Iraqi, Turkish, and Western.
The Oud House is a pioneering centre on both the Arab and international stages, dedicated to preserving the musical identity.
It guides new generations toward understanding and appreciating traditional music through the oud and other traditional instruments, encouraging them to explore musical diversity.
The Oud House fosters intergenerational communication and inspires youth to engage with musical heritage, develop their techniques and skills, and ultimately serves as a venue for youth empowerment, countering extremism, and promoting inclusion and integration by showcasing the value that cultural exchange can bring to global communities.
Globalizing the Oud: The Oud House trains musicians in techniques drawn from four distinct oud traditions (schools), enabling them to become world-class performers. It emphasizes the oud’s central role in Eastern Arab music and its diverse traditions. The Oud House aims to spread musical awareness globally—a goal already realized through its branches in Cairo and Abu Dhabi, where students from over 30 nationalities dedicate themselves to refining their performance techniques.
Strengthening Musical Identity: One of the Oud House’s core missions is to reinforce Arab musical identity among younger generations, fostering a sense of belonging to their cultural heritage.
Preserving Musical Heritage: The primary objective of The Oud House is to safeguard the region’s traditional musical heritage and contribute to its documentation and preservation for future generations. This is achieved through instruction in oud performance and related regional instruments such as the saz and buzuq.
Promoting Cultural Understanding: The Oud House seeks to preserve musical culture while creating pathways for its development and dissemination. It promotes cultural understanding by presenting the musical heritage and values of the Arab world to youth and society at large.
Guiding and Educating Youth: The Oud House directs young people toward learning and appreciating traditional music through regional instruments, equipping them with essential knowledge and skills.
Developing Musical Instruments: The Oud House aims to improve and modernize traditional musical instruments to meet the needs of contemporary performers.
Encouraging Musical Creativity: The Oud House encourages youth to create new musical works that blend tradition with innovation. It focuses on researching and teaching the oud’s influence across different cultures.
Workshops and Educational Initiatives: The Oud House offers workshops and educational programs that help participants develop their musical skills and deepen their understanding of musical heritage.
Collaboration and Partnerships: The Oud House actively seeks collaboration with cultural and educational institutions to enhance engagement and participation in the cultural sphere.
Inspiring Youth: The Oud House’s mission includes inspiring and supporting young people in achieving their musical and artistic aspirations. Through its programs, The Oud House cultivates a new generation of professional musicians and lays the foundation for an Arab music orchestra that represents Arab culture and music in international professional music events.
Balancing Tradition and Innovation: The Oud House strives to achieve a meaningful balance between preserving musical traditions and evolving them to meet modern challenges.
The core curriculum of The Oud House was designed by world-renowned oud virtuoso Maestro Naseer Shamma. Over the past 25+ years, this curriculum is being regularly tested, refined, and updated, especially in light of the expansion of The Oud House branches across different regions. The program spans two years of rigorous and structured study. Students are trained in techniques from various oud schools, with particular emphasis on the Iraqi, Egyptian/Eastern, and Turkish traditions, alongside exposure to Western performance techniques. In addition, they study both Western and Arab music theory. All lessons are delivered under the direct supervision of the instructors (all of which are graduates of The Oud House) and overseen by Maestro Naseer Shamma. Students are evaluated regularly throughout their studies.
Students may choose to specialize in one of the following instruments. (Note: While some exceptional cases have seen students graduate in more than one instrument, the program encourages focus on a single instrument.)
Traditional Instruments:
Oud
Qanun
Buzuqand Saz
Violin
Ney and Kawala
Percussion
Vocal training
Innovative Instruments Developed for The Oud House:
Oudlin: Eastern violin
Oudla: Eastern viola
Oudlo: Eastern cello
Oudbass: Eastern double bass
After two years of dedicated and structured study, and subject to the student’s readiness as assessed by their instructors, each student presents a graduation project in the form of a public recital. This performance showcases the student’s mastery of various oud schools and is attended by their instructors, music critics, and academic specialists who form an examination panel. The panel evaluates the student’s performance and awards the appropriate degree in the presence of a live audience.
The Oud House’s graduates have the opportunity to become instructors at The Oud House as well as members of The Oud House’s Orchestra.
Please contact us if your question is not answered below or if you require any further clarification.
The currently active branches are in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, and Riyadh. We will soon announce the opening of new branches in other cities around the world.
We are currently developing an online learning platform to enable high sound quality music lessons. If you would like to temporarily receive lessons through standard videoconferencing tools or video tutorials customized to your needs, level and development, please contact us and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
There are no age or academic prerequisites for admission to The Oud House.
Yes, you will need your own instrument. In some cities, we have our own luthier workshop if you wish to build a customized oud instrument. We can also recommend external luthiers or otherwise help you while inspecting instruments you procure from luthiers of your choice. It is recommended that, before buying or ordering the customization of your new instrument, you consult with your instructor about the specs and measurements.
We are available to address any queries and offer additional clarification as needed.
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