Why do we use such different picks for guitar and oud?

Question

The oud and the guitar are strung similarly (six strings vs. six courses of strings), and are both played with a flat pick; but the guitar pick is much smaller and flatter than the risha used for the oud. Did the different picks for the different instruments evolve by accident, or is the oud somehow better suited to playing with a risha and the guitar better suited to the triangular guitar pick? Could you reasonably play a guitar with a risha, or vice versa?

Answer 1

The Oud and Guitar are technically different instruments. The guitar is based on a flat back but 4 or more inches high and somewhat like a larger violin shape. There can be double strings on the 'fretboard.' And it can be 'electric'. The Oud has a completely different shape on both top and bottom. Some ancients have called the shape to be like a giant fruit. It has a 'belly' underneath the playing board. The fret is also different, pitching backhand over. This instrument has been played (and taken from) Asian instruments, and continues to play even in groups in places like Turkey. The guitar emerged in Spain and continues to be a beloved instrument there and definitely in the US. Each instrument has survived many ages and changed over the centuries. Their music from rock back to soft picks in country music or very old songs from the Middle East.