Rhythms: Iqa’at & Usul

Maqsum, baladi, saidi, malfuf, masmoudi, karsilama and dozens more — how Arabic, Turkish, North African and Balkan rhythms work.

156 questions answered

Questions and answers

What an iqa’ and an usul actually are, how they relate to time signatures, and which rhythms to learn first.

Maqsum, Baladi, Sa’idi, wahda and zaffa — how to play the 4/4 family, and what really separates one from another.

The fast 2/4 rhythms: malfuf, ayoub (zar), karachi, fallahi, fox, khaleegi, hacha, haggalla and Nubian.

The slow 8/4 rhythms — masmoudi kebir, chiftetelli, wahda kebira and bambi — and when each one belongs.

Karsilama and Roman 9/8, zeibekiko, 5/8, 7/8, 10/8 and 11/8, explained for players who count in four.

Sofyan, düyek, aksak and the rest: the Turkish usuls, how they’re spoken and written, and how the big ones are built.

Moroccan and Maghrebi grooves, chaabi, 3/4 and 6/8, haggalla, Nubian rhythms, and the long classical iqa’at.

Daychovo, paydushko, pravo, čoček, gankino, kopanitsa and tsamiko — the Balkan and Greek meters on a darbuka.

Which rhythm goes with which part of an Egyptian show, the folkloric styles, Turkish dance, and songs to listen for.

Shoush, sudasi, chobi, Gulf rhythms, and the many versions of wahda, masmoudi, sa’idi and zaffa on the charts.

Telling Maqsum, Baladi and Sa’idi apart by ear, hearing 9/8, grouping odd meters, and what tempo to practise at.

Reading letter notation, box and TUBS grids, rhythms on a stave, and what 8/4 or 9/8 means when you’re playing.

Ornamenting a rhythm without losing it, how much is too much behind a dancer or singer, and switching cleanly.