Music school in London
A school dedicated to the oud
Taqasim has taught the oud, darbuka and Arabic music theory in London since 2011, in-person and online, through the Mukhtar Method.
-
Founded 2011
London, United Kingdom
-
Five levels
Beginner through advanced
-
In-person and online
Adult evening classes and private lessons
Founded in 2011 by an oudist, run as a school.
Ahmed Mukhtar — an Iraqi oudist trained in Baghdad and resident in London since the 1990s — founded the school after twenty years of private teaching. The aim was to make the oud teachable in groups, properly, to adult students with no prior background in Arabic music.
Out of that came the Mukhtar Method: a written curriculum that breaks the oud down into a sequence of skills students can actually practise alone, between lessons. It now runs to seven volumes, used by oud teachers and self-learners across Europe, the Middle East and North America.
The school is small by choice. Eight to twelve students per group, four levels, a darbuka strand, a maqam theory strand. London students come from the Arab, Iranian, Turkish and diaspora communities, and from Western students with no prior link to the music. We treat them the same: as serious players.
— Ahmed Mukhtar, founder
From a student
“Ahmed is a rare teacher. He corrects without discouragement, and there is no hurry. After a year I can hear the maqamat I once couldn't tell apart, and I am beginning to play them.”
Term · May 2026 A selection of 4 · 12 in total
Open courses, this term
Ten-week terms beginning 20 May 2026. In-person in central London and online via video.
-
Beginner
Darbuka Beginners
How to hold the darbuka, the correct tones (doum, tak) with right- and left-hand strokes, and the foundational rhythms — Wahda, Maqsoum, Ayyub, Malfouf and Thurayya. Progresses to Darbuka Intermediate. Students must have their own darbuka.
View course -
Advanced
Darbuka Advanced Plus 2
For returning students who have completed Darbuka Advanced. Complex polyrhythms, solo and improvisation over recorded and live music, accents and dynamics, ‘Hiwa’ ornamentation and right-hand Mahbus.
View course -
Intermediate
Darbuka Intermediate
For students who have completed Darbuka Beginners. New complex rhythms, sound equality, tempo and hand coordination. Humming or singing along while keeping time on the drum.
View course -
Upper Intermediate
Darbuka Upper Intermediate
For returning students who have completed Beginner and Intermediate. Complex rhythms and polyrhythms, playing along with recorded and live music, and the first steps into rhythmic improvisation and Taqasim ornamentation.
View course
8 more courses this term — darbuka, online lessons and maqam theory — on the full course page.
View every course