My music is a meeting between me and the oud, against the background of the desert and stars.
I love the desert. In the last decade, I tried my best to spend as much time in it as possible, to sit in deserted canyons and gaze from unnamed mountaintops. I did this as best I could, together with studying music. The tension was always between playing and the outdoors. The oud must be well protected from the sun. In the outdoors, your hands get dirty and dry. On the other hand, the oud requires the time to play and delve into the maqam, the sound, and practice of course.
About five years ago I got married, and soon afterwards my daughter was born. Life got a boost I could not resist. On the one hand, there is less time for music, but on the other hand – the inspiration and my emotional world have broadened.
Gad Tidhar was born in Israel in 1983. At the age of 22, after playing guitar for years, he bought his first oud and started learning the traditions of the east – the Maqams of Turkey, Persia and Arabia. Tidhar studied Persian music with tar virtuoso and composer Piris Eliyahu, from whom he also learned improvisation and composition. After three years of studying with Eliyahu, Tidhar focused on learning the unique technique of the Oud with Nizar Rouhana, a master of the instrument, who also taught him the Arabic and Turkish maqams. Gad also traveled to Cretes to further his study of the oud, where he met and studied with Ross Dali, an expert of oriental music, and delved into the Turkish maqam system.
In his playing, Gad brings together everything he has learned – Turkish ornamentation, Arabic picking style, Persian dynamics – all these are interweaved into his unique playing style, through which Gad is able to express his world of inspiration – the desert and its wildlife, the camels he herds and the peace and quiet of nature.
* This video is taken from the Indiegogo Campaign to fund Baharim - gad tidhar oud solo Album in 2017.
Gad lives in Mitzpe Ramon, at the heart of the Negev Desert, with his wife and two children.