small phrases-- di-di, di-di, da-ga, te-tay, te-di-gi-di, di-gi-di, da. da-ti-gi-ti, dig-in-na, da.semble plays accented by the tabla] it's a very difficult instrument to master, and i still haven't mastered it. i'm an artist and i'm a performer, a professional musician, but my basic view is that i'm studying it. i'm learning as i go, and i feel i have a lot to learn. [traditional arabic music played on an oud] (shaheen) the oud is actually the most prominent instrument in arabic music. it has basically five double strings and one single low string, and it has a fingerboard here that is fretless-- open fingerboard, and this is how the quartertone quality is being produced, because you can slide and produce all the sounds. [plays example] usually the oud is being played in the context of the small ensemble or a larger one as accompaniment to a vocalist or as a solo instrument. it's a very old instrument. it comes from the guitar family in persia. it's the ancestor of the lute and the guitar family. the oud is actually the most prominent instrument in arabic music, and it's as valuabl