Master Ud
In this two-year master’s program, you will continue to develop your technical and improvisational skills, while exploring the ud’s expressive potential across jazz and world music traditions.
Through masterworks from both classical and contemporary Arabic and Middle Eastern repertoires, and customized exercises designed according to your level and experience, you will develop your technique by focusing on good sound, good posture, left-hand positioning and fingering, intonation, and plectrum patterns. In addition, you will develop your improvisational skills in both metric and nonmetric forms (taqsim), focusing on maqam pathways, phrasing and motivic development, and rhythmic awareness.
Eventually, the program will guide you in integrating modal traditions with jazz and world music harmony and rhythms, and to develop a personal artistic voice, shaped by your individual background, experiences, and stylistic influence.
Meet our team
Meet your lecturers
Curriculum
Curriculum
Before you apply
Admission
requirements
Video Requirements
Share your un-edited video recording links in the portfolio. Videos should be uploaded to your YouTube channel (if you don’t have one, make one). Set your videos to ‘unlisted’ so only you and we can see them. IMPORTANT: DO NOT send the actual video(s): ONLY LINKS to the video(s)
- Present yourself in the beginning of the video in English
- Play at least three pieces (at least 10 minutes in total) that demonstrate your musicality, technical command of the instrument, and your familiarity with different music styles (if possible). At least one piece should be from the Arabic or middle eastern repertoire (for instance, a Samai or Sazsemai). If possible, play a composition of your own.
- Play a non-rhythmic improvisation in modal music style (for instance, taqsim) of at least three minutes.
- Play a metric improvisation in modal style accompanied by a rhythm instrument or rhythm section of your choice.
- Play an ascending descending scale over two octaves of the following: three modal music scales of your choice (at least one scale with microtones, for instance, maqam Rast), and a pentatonic or a blues scale.
- Include in writing for how long you are playing ud, with whom you were studying, if you are playing in a band, and everything else you think is important for us to know. If you have a video of your Bachelor Final Exam, please share that with us as well as an additional video link.
“Live” Audition
Depending on your level, you will be invited for an online meeting with the teachers for an online “live” audition. For the “live” audition, you should be able to play a representative short set (3 pieces), we highly recommend that you do this with your own band! And be ready to do interactive exercises together with the main subject teachers, as well as individual ones, including music knowledge sharing, sight reading, and improvising. The “live” audition should take approximately 20 – 45 minutes.
Master Interview
Finally, after passing the live audition, you will be invited for an interview with the master coordinator to discuss your study and research plans. The master interview should take approximately 20 minutes.