If you like the oud, you'll love the Tingalin iPhone app

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2811028&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Tingalin iPhone App Demo from Afrim Kacaj on Vimeo.
Hey, shqipe shiqoje ket! Have you ever wanted to play the ancient Albanian lute called the Çifteli and never got around to visiting Albania? No? Well, Arfrim Kacaj has an app for you. The Tingalin iPhone app simulates this two-stringed instrument with absolute fidelity, going as far as to recreate the wrist-based strumming technique of the ancient Çifteli masters. As if there were any other way to really wail on this fascinating axe?

Tingalin is played by tapping the 14 notes on the instruments handle. Each note is recorded in the tab and the entire melody is played by shaking the device, as if strumming the real instrument. Each strum up and down (meaning shake of the phone) a note is played.

Tempo is controlled by the frequency of your strumming! Tuning can be adjusted to your prefered pitch using the slider control +/- 1 octave.

Afrim is the maker of iFight, an app that simulates a real Kung-Fu fight with gongs, whips, and swords. The apps have made Afrim so famous that he got to sit down with the Albanian President for dinner, which is actually pretty damn cool. As Afrim points out, Albania is a developing nation and being represented by cool iPhone apps is a big deal.

My dream? Rock Band 2: Tingalin Edition?