Keeping family traditions alive through music

The oud is more than a musical instrument. With its distinctive rounded wooden body, short neck and typically 11 strings, this traditional instrument produces a deep, resonant sound and has been part of musical life across the Arab world for generations.

In Yemen, music is closely connected to poetry, social gatherings and celebrations, with regional traditions passed down through generations. Music also has a way of bringing families together, creating moments of connection and keeping cultural traditions alive. From the songs of Sana'a to the musical gatherings of Hadramawt, these sounds remain an important part of the country's cultural identity.

For Abdulfattah Haidrah, the oud represents a connection to his Yemeni roots and a tradition he wants to carry into family life in Dubai. Having moved to the UAE in 2004, he never lost sight of a long-held ambition to learn the instrument. What began as a personal dream has since become a way to stay connected to his heritage and introduce his children to the music and culture of their family's homeland.

A long-held dream finds its rhythm

Abdulfattah Haidrah arrived in Dubai in 2004, having left his home country of Yemen, where he had lived in Sana'a since birth, with a desire to work and build a life in the UAE.

For years, learning to play the oud had been a dream. During his time in Yemen, he had always wanted to learn the instrument and had taken classes at one point. Even after arriving in Dubai, that dream did not fade. “Learning the oud was always something I dreamed about,” he remembers. 

“I would hear the instrument and think that one day I would be able to play it,” he added with a smile. The beginning was not easy. Learning where to place his fingers, how to hold the instrument, and how to produce the right sound required patience. There were moments when progress felt slow, but each new melody gave him another reason to continue.

At first, he found learning the oud challenging, but each time he mastered something new, he felt proud, knowing he was getting closer to something he had wanted for a long time. For him, the oud became more than a new skill. It became a way to reconnect with something familiar while bonding with his family, far from home.

What started as a long-held personal goal gradually became a new way for him to connect with traditional music and carry his Yemeni heritage into his family's life in Dubai. A proud father of two daughters and two sons, he shares this connection with his wife and children, keeping the traditions of home present in their everyday lives.

Although Haidrah and his family have built their lives in Dubai, their Yemeni heritage remains an important part of who they are. Through music, he continues to maintain that connection, bringing the sounds and traditions of home into family life and sharing them with the next generation.

Haidrah believes that living in Dubai has not meant leaving Yemeni traditions behind. Instead, it has given his family a different environment in which to preserve them. “I want my children to know where their family comes from and understand their Yemeni culture,” he explains. 

Haidrah says he sees similarities between Yemeni and Emirati family lives, particularly in the importance of hospitality, gatherings, and keeping family connections strong. For Haidrah’s children, the oud offers a personal connection to that heritage. The music. It creates an opportunity to introduce to younger generations the traditions that shaped their parents' lives. The instrument that once represented a dream now represents something larger: a connection between his past, his family, and the generation growing up around him.

The oud may have started as a personal ambition, but its sound now conveys something beyond music. It carries memories of Yemen to a family living in Dubai, reminding them that traditions are not just remembered; they are kept alive through shared moments.