The Oud, is a pear-shaped, stringed instrument, still used in traditional Middle Eastern music and East African music.

The Oud, unlike many other plucked stringed instruments, does not have a fretted neck. It has eleven strings which ten of these strings are paired together in courses of two and the eleventh, lowest string remains single. The pegbox of the Oud is bent back at a 45 degree angle from the neck of the instrument and it's body has a staved, bowl-like back resembling the outside of half a watermelon, unlike the flat back of a guitar. The Oud generally has one to three sound-holes. The plectrum (pick) for the Oud is usually a little more than the length of an index-finger.