Music is at the heart of Middle Eastern dance. It is our muse, our inspiration. In order to work with the music, to do it justice, we need to understand it theoretically as well as emotionally. Rhythm is the foundation of Arabic music, so it is fundamental to the dance to understand your rhythms. Here is a quick primer on Arabic rhythm for students. In subsequent posts, I will break down specific rhythms with tips on movement interpretation for you to experiment with.
In order to understand Middle Eastern rhythms, one needs to know a these basic concepts.
The Sounds
The Tabla (also known as Darabuka, or Dumbec) is the primary percussion instrument used in in Arabic dance music. It is a goblet shaped drum that is played by hand, and makes a multitude of sounds depending on how and where it is hit. Here are the most important:
Dum- The deep sounding beat made when the drummer hits the center of the drum
Tec- The sharp or high sounding beat made when hitting closer to the edge of the drum
Ka - A “tec” played with the left hand (As dancers, we don’t distinguish between “tec” and “ka” in our movement, however, you may hear it referred to by a teacher or musician.)
The Concepts
Rhythm- the sequence of dums and tecs and how they relate to time(counts)
Measure – one cycle of the rhythm before it repeats
In future posts, as well as music related sites on the internet, you will see a diagram representing each rhythm. The top row represents the counts. Remember to space the counts equally apart time-wise. Also remember, that in music the cycle is looped so it will start over directly. In other words, there will be the same amount of time between the 4 and the next 1 as there was between the 3 and the 4.
EXAMPLE:
Here is one measure of the rhythm maqsoum:
| counts |
1 |
& |
2 |
& |
3 |
& |
4 |
& |
| rhythm |
Dum |
tec |
tec |
Dum |
|
tec |
Here are two measures:
| counts |
1 |
& |
2 |
& |
3 |
& |
4 |
& |
1 |
& |
2 |
& |
3 |
& |
4 |
& |
| rhythm |
D |
t |
t |
D |
|
t |
|
D |
t |
|
t |
D |
|
t |
|
Tags: Arabic Music, belly dance, Belly Dance Rhythms, middle eastern dance, Middle Eastern music
