Marking a Milestone: The Institutionalization of Oud Pedagogy in Malaysia (Online 30 October 2025)

 by Dr. Raja Zulkarnain

I’m pleased to share that my fifth journal article for 2025, “The Institutionalization of Oud Pedagogy in Malaysia: An Autoethnographic Study of Pioneering, Repertoire, and Educational Transformation,” will be published online on 30 October 2025. This paper documents the two-decade journey of introducing, structuring, and consolidating oud (or gambus) pedagogy within Malaysian higher education. It examines how traditional maqām-based learning was recontextualized into a modern academic framework, balancing institutional formality with the preservation of aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual depth.

Why This Article Matters

At its core, this study is both a personal chronicle and a pedagogical framework. It proposes how a musical tradition can be institutionalized without being neutralized, retaining its artistic and cultural essence while meeting academic standards. It highlights three essential components of successful institutionalization:

1. Structured curriculum — tiered syllabus, assessment rubrics for technique and taqsīm, and systematic maqām literacy.
2. Aural–theoretical integration — microtonal ear training, correction of modal misidentification, and cultivation of attentive listening culture.
3. Institutional ecology — sustained faculty support, cultural infrastructure, student-alumni networks, and regional collaborations.

My Work Journey in Perspective

• 1999–2001 (London): Formal training in the oud, maqāmāt, and performance discipline under an Iraqi teacher rooted in the Baghdad school.
• 2002 (Return to Malaysia): Began introducing structured oud pedagogy, transforming community workshops into a national educational direction.
• 2003–2010 (Akademi Seni Kebangsaan / ASWARA) & 2003–2008 (UiTM): Development of syllabus, repertoire, and assessment systems integrating technique, notation, and taqsīm improvisation within classroom settings.
• 2005 (Cairo): Advanced study at Beit al-Oud under world renown oud master Naseer Shamma (Iraq), refining my approach to aurality, ornamentation, and improvisational methodology.
• 2011–2014 (UPSI) & 2018–2019 (IIUM/CiTRA): Expansion of oud teaching to new institutions; educator training, cultural collaborations, and student development.
• 2013 & 2018 (Publications): Authored the first and second Malay-language instructional books on the oud, which became key teaching references nationwide.
• 2019–Present (Academic writing): A series of interconnected articles, Intonaphobia, The Misidentification of Maqām Kurd, Fa Tuning, and Taqsīm as Pedagogy, forming the intellectual foundation for this latest publication.

What Readers Can Expect

• A model for teaching taqsīm, from attentive listening and creativity assessment to modal fluency.
• Microtonal training protocols, progressive exercises for jins and sayr development contextualized for Malaysian learners.
• Curriculum design frameworks, integrating classical, modern, and local repertoire with measurable learning outcomes.
• Autoethnographic insight, critical reflection on success, compromise, and adaptation in embedding a traditional art within academia.
• Institutional and community documentation, highlighting alumni networks, inter-faculty collaborations, and cultural continuity.

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals and institutions that have shaped this journey:

• ASWARA (formerly Akademi Seni Kebangsaan), UiTM, UPSI, and IIUM/CiTRA, for their early trust, collaboration, and shared commitment to formalizing oud education.
• Students and alumni, whose patience, artistry, and dedication to mastering taqsīm and microtonality made the vision tangible.
• Research collaborators and fellow musicians, for their dialogue, critique, and intellectual companionship across the years.
• The editorial and publishing team, for their professionalism and guidance throughout the review and publication process.

Looking Ahead

This publication is not a conclusion but a milestone, a point of reflection and renewal. It sets the stage for the next phase: refining assessment tools for taqsīm, expanding documentation of local repertoire, and strengthening aural training across schools and universities. To all who have walked this path with me,  from studio to classroom, from performance to publication, thank you. This work is a collective reflection of faith, persistence, and the belief that traditional music, when thoughtfully institutionalized, can inspire both scholarship and soul. -drrz