My journey towards the oud as my main plaucked string instrument is a long one. Having started as a guitarrist, I ventured into the world of ethnic strings instruments with the greek bouzouki, a very versalite instrument. When I discover the world of middle eastern modal music I decided to buy a baglama for its amazing technical possibilities and the existent of movable frets capable of microtonality. However, as I journied into the world of modal music a fretless instrument seemed more adequate for it. Having know the oud for some years I lost my fretless fear and went for it!

I consider the oud a very demanding instrument that requires years of practice for adequate tuning and technique. Its expressive capabilities are amazing and very unique. After some years into its practice, hearing different styles and repertoire, I decided that I identify myself closer to the turkish style of playing the instrument and have since focused on it.

Currently, besides regularly studying the repertoire of turkish classical music on the oud, I compose my original pieces and also adapt the instrument to different styles.

The oud has a mythic status, its origins hidden in antiquity and enhanced by myth, story, and legend. The name, al-oud is traditionally taken from the Arabic for "the wood". The definite article al was dropped in Turkish and in Turkey the instrument is simply known as ud.

The modern oud is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped stringed instrument played with a long plectrum, with 10 to 13 strings grouped in 5,6 or 7 courses. It has been commonly played in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia for thousands of years. As a fundamental difference with the western lute, it has no frets and a smaller neck. It is the direct ancestor of the European lute.

Modern-day ouds fall into three categories: Arabian, Turkish, and Persian, the latter also being known locally as a barbat. This distinction is not based solely on geography; the Arabic oud is found not only in the Arabian peninsula but throughout the Arab-world.

Turkish ouds have been played in Greece, where they are called outi, and in other locations in the Mediterranean. The Arabian ouds, such as the Iraqi oud, Egyptian oud and Syrian oud, are normally grouped under the term 'Arabian oud' because of their similarities, although local differences may occur, notably with the Iraqi oud. However, all these categories are very recent, and do not do justice to the variety of ouds made in the 19th century, and also today.

Arabian ouds are normally larger than their Turkish and Persian counterparts, producing a fuller, deeper sound, whereas the sound of the Turkish oud is more taut and shrill, not least because the Turkish oud is usually (and partly) tuned one whole step higher than the Arabian.[52] Turkish ouds tend to be more lightly constructed than Arabian with an unfinished sound board, lower string action and with string courses placed closer together.