The secrets of oud playing have traditionally been transmitted orally, from master to student, and very little of this information has been written down. It is not surprising, therefore, that there is no comprehensive book available in English on how to play the oud. However, there is an excellent and very thorough oud method in Turkish called "Ud Metodu (Gelenekle Gelecege)" by Mutlu Torun, which is available from Lark in the Morning. This book is even worth buying if you do not read Turkish, as a great deal of information can be worked out from the numerous diagrams it contains, and with the help of a dictionary you can really make some progress. According to one website, this book is currently being translated into English - I shall keep you informed! As you would expect, Mutlu Torun's book deals purely with the Turkish tradition. For an insight into the Arab school of playing, the best option is still an oud teacher, although there are rumours that Simon Shaheen is in the process of writing an oud method.

Don't despair though, as there are numerous websites which deal with all aspects of oud playing. There is a comprehensive listing on the Links page, but two of the most useful for the serious student are Oud Cafe and Arabic Maqam World, which focus on the Turkish and Arab traditions, respectively.