darbuka.orgby Ibi Malik

Belly Dance Rhythms: Which Rhythm Goes With Which Style

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

5 questions answered

RHY-067 Which rhythm goes with which part of a classic Egyptian belly-dance show? #

Here’s the typical mapping (Baba Yaga, Jen Belly Dance, maqamworld):

  • Entrance (majency): fast maqsum, malfuf or ayoub.
  • Slow/lyrical section: masmoudi kebir, chiftetelli, wahda, bambi.
  • Taqsim (improvised solo): chiftetelli, sombati, wahda, or no rhythm at all.
  • Baladi improvisation: starts rubato, then masmoudi saghir/maqsum, building to fast maqsum or fallahi.
  • Saidi/cane section: saidi.
  • Drum solo: maqsum, saidi, ayoub and malfuf interchanged, with stops and accents.
  • Finale: fast malfuf, ayoub or maqsum.

RHY-068 Which rhythms signal a folkloric style rather than raqs sharqi? #

These are the ones to listen for:

  • Saidi: the cane dance.
  • Fallahi: peasant folklore.
  • Ayoub/zar: zar-inspired pieces.
  • Nawari and other dabke rhythms: Levantine line dance.
  • Khaleegi: Gulf dance.
  • Karsilama/Roman 9/8: Turkish style.
  • Zaffa: wedding procession (e.g. candelabra/shamadan, though Baba Yaga cautions it’s not always upbeat enough for that).
  • Jerk: Nubian-pop.

RHY-069 What rhythm is a Turkish-style belly-dance performance known for? #

Turkish oriental leans on 9/8 karsilama and Roman havası, fast çiftetelli, and energetic düyek/maqsum-type grooves, with plenty of darbuka flourishes on top. The flourishes are half the sound.

RHY-070 Can you give song examples for the main rhythms? #

These are the examples maqamworld itself uses. Put them on and listen for the rhythm underneath (no lyrics quoted here):

  • Maqsum: Darit el-Ayyam (Umm Kulthum), Qari’at al-Fingan (Abdel Halim Hafez), Ana Bahibb el-Gedid (Ahmad Adaweya).
  • Baladi: ‘Aziza (Abdel Wahab, instrumental).
  • Saidi: Sawwah and Zayy el-Hawa (Abdel Halim Hafez).
  • Malfuf: Ya Dara Duri Fina (Fairouz).
  • Masmoudi kebir: Bint el-Balad (Abdel Wahab).
  • Wahda kabira: Sawa Rbina (Fairouz).
  • Zaffa: Duqqu il-Mazahir (Farid al-Atrash).
  • Nawari: Dal’ona (traditional).
  • Dawr hindi: Sihtu Wajdan (Sayyed Darwish).
  • Jorjina: Ya Umm il-‘Uyun il-Sud (Nazem al-Ghazali).

RHY-071 Why do long Arabic songs contain several rhythms? #

Because the classic orchestral songs move through sections with different moods. Alf Leila w Leila is the obvious example: maqamworld cites it for both zaffa and bambi. Each section gets its own iqa’, and the switches often happen without any change of tempo. Dancers are expected to change their movement vocabulary at every switch, so as the drummer you have to make those switches audible.