Overview
In addition to playing music files, The Oud Tutor also
allows the user to play the oud directly using the mouse or the
keyboard.
Playing the Oud Using the Mouse
Clicking anywhere on an oud string produces a pitch as if a real
oud was fingered at the same position. In this regard, the user can
choose between untempered fingering and 1/4 note approximation. In untempered fingering, the produced pitch will not be altered in any
way, even if it did not correspond to an actual pitch in equal
temperament music. In 1/4 note approximation, the produced pitch is
approximated to the nearest 1/4 note.
Playing the Oud Using the Keyboard
For the purpose of playing the oud using the keyboard, four 10-key
rows of the keyboard keys are used, as shown in the following
figure.
Each row of keys corresponds to a string of the oud. This
correspondence is indicated on the strings at the oud chest, where
gray boxes show the range of keyboard keys that correspond to each
string.
Because there are more than 4 strings in the oud (actually, 5 or
6 strings), the user is provided with a way to change the
correspondence between the 4 rows of keys and the strings. This can
be accomplished by any of the following:
- Using the "KB Scroll" up and down buttons in the oud toolbar
- Using the up-arrow and the down-arrow keys of the keyboard
- Using the tidal ("~") and the escape ("Esc") keys of the keyboard
The 10 keyboard keys per a string allow the user to play 10
different notes per string, with a quarter-note interval between
each consecutive pair of notes.
Oud Playing Options
Selecting the menu command Options > Mouse/Keyboard Play
Options... brings a window where the user can set the following
oud playing options:
- Whether or not to use 1/4 note approximation
- Whether or not to highlight the played notes
- Whether or not to produce continually varying pitches as the
mouse is dragged along a string
- Whether or not to show the keyboard guides on the oud chest
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