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 The ud has a rounded pear shaped back, fingerboard along the
straight neck, and pegbox bent back at an angle. The soundboard, which has the most
important role in governing the quality of the sound and the volume, is made of
non-resinous pinewood 2 mm in thickness. It is reinforced by thin strips of wood placed
underneath at rightangles to the grain. The size and positioning of these also affects the
sound quality.In the centre of the soundboard of the Turkish ud are three latticed soundholes, one large and two small. Arab uds and the small zenne ud for women have a single latticed soundhole. The bridge is glued to the soundboard, and between the bridge and the large soundhole is a plate (the mızraplık) made of tortoiseshell or other material to protect the soundboard from the plectrum. The pear shaped back is made of numerous strips of wood (normally between 19 and 25) glued together, with stringing between each. Similar stringing follows the join between the soundboard and the back, and runs around the sound holes. The strings are pressed down against the flat finger board. Since there are no frets as on the guitar and mandolin, the fingers must be positioned in precisely the right place or the note will be off-key. The strings extend from the bridge to the head, where they are wound around pegs made of wood like the instruments of the violin family. On a good quality instrument the pegs should turn easily and remain in place after tuning without excessive pressure being required. There are five pairs of strings tuned to the same pitch and a single string which is also the thickest and known as the bamteli. The two thinnest pairs are made of nylon and the others of metal wound with fine silk or nylon thread. When tuned the 11 strings exert a pull of over 50 kilos on the bridge.
The sound range of the ud is comparable to that of the guitar and the cello, but an octave lower. In other words it is a bass instrument. While in wind instruments the sound lasts as long as the musician blows, and in bowed instruments as long as the bow movement lasts, in plucked instruments the sound continues, gradually diminishing, as long as the vibration of the string lasts. In the fasıl (vocal and instrumental suite in a single mode) it is the ud which sets the rhythm with the beats of the plectrum, and comes to the fore in bass areas of the melody. The ud is one of the simplest Turkish instruments to play and one of the least problematical, which means that today as in the past it is widely used. One result of this is that the largest number of Turkish method books have been written for this instrument, the earliest being that by Ali Salahi Bey published in 1910. Many udi, as ud players are called, both play and sing. Of the three ud players who have exerted the greatest influence on those of the present day, the foremost is Udi Nevres Bey (1873-1937), famous for his early recordings in which he sang as well as played. Nevres Bey later became well known for his radio performances. He played the traditional way, plucking the strings above the sound hole with a soft plectrum (said to have been made of French leather) rather than eagle’s quill. His playing was known for its soft sound and sensitivity, and he plucked at frequent intervals. Şerif Muhiddin Targan (1892-1967) was the first Turkish classical composer to write works for a particular instrument, in this case the lute. Traditionally Turkish music, which is monophonic, was written for playing by any instrument or combinations of instruments. Targan had an outstanding right and left-hand technique and his playing was greatly admired. He gave numerous solo ud concerts, some in the United States as well as Turkey. Yorgo Bacanos (1900-1977) abandoned the tradition of playing over the sound hole to play over the mızraplık, producing a clear ringing sound. For many years he played both live and on the radio. Whether playing instrumental compositions or accompanying singers he was known for his rhythmic style and distinctive embellishments. Most 19th and 20th century udis were also composers. Foremost among them were Afet (Hapet) Mısırlıyan, Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Ali Rıfat Bey, Şekerci Cemil Bey, Selanikli Ahmet Efendi, Faiz Kapancı, Mısırlı ıbrahim, Sami Bey, Ali Salahi Bey, Fahri Kopuz, Şekip Memduh Bey, Sedat Öztoprak, Refik Talat Alpman, Sadi Erden, Cevdet Kozanoğlu, Şerif ıçli, Yesari Asım Arsoy, Hırant, Selahattin Pınar (also a tanbur player), Kadri Şençalar and Halil Aksoy. In Europe a maker of stringed instruments is known as a luthier, a word which originally meant lute-maker. This indicates how widespread the European cousin of the ud once was. Turkish made uds are generally acknowledged to be the finest. The most famous ud makers were Galip Baba, Onnik Üner and above all Manol (1845-1916), many of whose instruments, of varying quality, have survived to the present day. Üsküdarlı Mustafa Usta and Hamza Usta were trained at Manol’s atelier, and Hadi Eroğluer trained under Hamza Usta. Other well known makers were Vasil, Kapıdağlı Ilya, Arşak and Kirkor Kahya.
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Traditionally plectrums for the bağlama
were made of cherry bark, those for the tanbur of tortoiseshell and those for the
short-necked ud of eagle's wing quills which had been steeped in olive oil until they were
sufficiently flexible. However, these have largely been superseded by plastic plectrums,
not just because they are cheaper and more practical, but also for their superior
qualities, and young ud players do not even consider using any other material. Ud
plectrums are 0.5-1.5 mm thick, 3-15 mm wide, and 4-20 cm long, and are available in a
wide range of hardness, flexibility, tip shape and colour to suit everyone. The angle at
which the plectrum strikes the string and the distance from the bridge both affect the
sound to a considerable degree. Traditionally musicians preferred to play over the sound
hole, which produced a softer tone, but today many ud players prefer the stronger and
crisper sound produced by playing close to the bridge over the mızraplık.