7This book has been written for beginner Oud students with no experience playing the Oud. The objective of the course is to acquire the basic techniques used to play the Oud and understand the characteristics of the maqam music system by studying the eight fundamental maqamaat together with popular traditional repertoire. No previous musical knowledge is required to begin this course, as most music is notated as tablature, a visual representation which does not require understanding of music notation. However, it helps to have basic knowledge of music theory, rhythm, note names and notation.