Maqsum, Baladi and Saidi: The 4/4 Rhythms

RHY-007 What is the maqsum rhythm and how do I play it? #

Maqsum is 4/4: D T - T D - T - (8ths), spoken as “dum tek – tek dum – tek –”. Play the Doum with your dominant hand, land the Teks cleanly, and count the gaps out loud rather than rushing through them. Start slow with a metronome and only lift the tempo once every stroke sounds the way you want it to. It’s the most widely used rhythm in Arabic music: pop, classical, folk, and it’s the go-to belly-dance groove. It’s my favourite, too. I reckon I play it about 70% of the time I perform. Maqamworld’s examples include songs by Umm Kulthum (e.g. Darit el-Ayyam), Abdel Halim Hafez (Qari’at al-Fingan), Fairouz and Ahmad Adaweya. The Turkish equivalent is düyek.

RHY-008 What is the baladi rhythm? #

Baladi is 4/4: D D - T D - T - (8ths), spoken as “dum dum – tek dum – tek –”. It’s maqsum with the second stroke changed from a tek to a dum, so if you already have maqsum you’re one stroke away from baladi. That doubled Doum at the start gives it a heavier, earthier feel that suits hip drops and grounded steps. Maqamworld’s examples include Abdel Wahab’s instrumental ‘Aziza.

RHY-009 Is “baladi” the same as “masmoudi saghir”? #

Yes, same rhythm, two names. Masmoudi saghir (“small masmoudi”) is the classical name, and it exists to separate the rhythm from the 8-beat masmoudi kebir (“big masmoudi”). In the West, and in belly-dance circles especially, you’ll hear it called “baladi”.

RHY-010 Why is the name “baladi” confusing? #

Because baladi (“of the country/town”, “local”) means three different things: the rhythm, an Egyptian urban-folk music style, and a dance style (raqs baladi). Real baladi music uses several rhythms, maqsum and saidi included, not only masmoudi saghir. Greenstone Dance and Wikipedia both warn that hearing the rhythm doesn’t mean you’re hearing baladi music. That’s exactly why some teachers stick to the name masmoudi saghir.

RHY-011 What is the saidi rhythm? #

Saidi is 4/4: D T - D D - T - (8ths), spoken as “dum tek – dum dum – tek –”. It comes from the Sa’id (Upper Egypt), and its signature is the two Doums back to back in the middle of the bar. Get those two landing evenly and the rhythm plays itself. It’s lively and heavy, and it’s the classic rhythm for tahtib (stick fighting) and the women’s cane dance, usually with mizmar (folk oboe) on top. Maqamworld’s examples include Abdel Halim Hafez songs composed by Baligh Hamdi (Sawwah, Zayy el-Hawa). Some teachers describe saidi as an “upside-down baladi”.

RHY-012 What’s the actual difference between maqsum, baladi and saidi? #

All three sit in the same frame: 8 eighth-note slots, with teks on the “and” of 2 and on beat 4. The only thing that moves is where the dums sit:

• Maqsum: D T - T D - T -, with dums on 1 and 3.
• Baladi: D D - T D - T -, with two dums at the start (1 and “and”).
• Saidi: D T - D D - T -, with two dums together in the middle (“and” of 2 and beat 3).

The easiest way to keep them straight: baladi doubles the first dum, saidi doubles the middle dum, and maqsum doubles nothing.

RHY-013 Some websites write maqsum and baladi differently from this. Who’s right? #

Plenty of beginner blogs simply garble these patterns. One popular gear shop’s article lists a “baladi” that is really maqsum. When you’re unsure, check where the dums fall against the patterns everyone agrees on: Wikipedia’s D-T---T-D---T--- for maqsum and D-D---T-D---T--- for baladi, which match the Baba Yaga diagrams and Arabinstruments’ spoken versions. Then confirm it by ear against a real recording. Your ears are the final judge, not a blog post.

RHY-014 Why is baladi sometimes called “maqsum” and vice versa? #

Naming, mostly. Baba Yaga Music notes that some non-US musicians call the baladi pattern “maqsum”, and maqsum was historically treated as a derivative of the baladi genre. In practice, players often write one “maqsum/baladi” chart and swap that second stroke freely as they play, which is another reason the names blur.

RHY-015 What is “walking maqsum”? #

It’s maqsum with light strokes filling the gaps so the groove never stops moving, e.g. D - T - k - T - D - k - T - t k (16ths). Baba Yaga describes it as giving a strong sense of forward motion. It’s the usual way you fill maqsum out under a dancer’s travelling steps. Keep the added strokes quieter than the skeleton, or it stops walking and starts stomping.

RHY-016 What is wahda w-nuss (“one and a half”)? #

It’s a syncopated maqsum. Maqamworld describes it as maqsum with the first tak delayed by half an eighth note, which gives you roughly D - - T - - T - D - - - T - - - (16ths). It was hugely popular in mid-20th-century tarab (Farid al-Atrash’s Nura Nura, Umm Kulthum’s Amal Hayati). To your ear it’s almost identical to sombati and to fast chiftetelli in 4/4. Maqamworld and Baba Yaga point that out independently, so it’s a useful cross-check.

RHY-017 What is the wahda rhythm? #

Wahda means “one”, and that’s the clue: it’s a 4/4 rhythm with a single dum per measure, e.g. D - - - T - - - (8ths), usually filled lightly. All that space is the point. It gives a singer room to ornament and some control over the tempo. Maqamworld lists a small version (wahda saghira, 2/4), a stretched version (wahda kabira, 8/4) and wahda w-nuss.

RHY-018 What is sombati? #

Sombati is an Egyptian 4/4 rhythm: D - - T - - T - D - - - T - - - (16ths). The first half has a 3+3+2 feel, and the second half has only one dum. Baba Yaga calls it the Egyptian 4/4 version of chiftetelli, used under taqsim or vocal passages. The name is often linked to the composer Riyad al-Sunbati, and maqamworld also calls wahda kabira “wahda sunbati”. The naming here is loose, so go by the pattern rather than the label.

RHY-019 What is the zaffa rhythm? #

Zaffa is the 4/4 Egyptian wedding-procession rhythm. Maqamworld says it’s named after the loud, percussion-heavy procession that leads the bride and groom in. One common form is D - t k t - t - D - t - T - - - (16ths), with a march-like step to it. Baba Yaga lists at least five variants, so don’t be surprised when two teachers give you two charts. Maqamworld’s examples include Farid al-Atrash’s Duqqu il-Mazahir and a section of Umm Kulthum’s Alf Leila w Leila.

RHY-020 What is the nawari rhythm, and is it the dabke rhythm? #

Nawari is a 4/4 Levantine rhythm: T D - T D - T - (8ths). It’s essentially saidi/baladi started on a tek. Maqamworld describes it as a variation of saidi and baladi used for dabke line dances, e.g. the traditional Dal’ona. It also goes by katakufti, which is confusing, because the “original” katakufti is an 8/8 rhythm that sounds identical when you start it from a different point. Dabke isn’t tied to one rhythm, though. Wikipedia notes that different dabke types have different phrase lengths (six-bar versus four- or eight-bar), and plenty of dabke songs are simply played over baladi or a fast 2/4.

RHY-021 What is the jerk rhythm? #

Jerk is a fast 4/4 rhythm you’ll hear in Egyptian pop with Nubian influence: D - - - T - - - D D - - T - - - (16ths). Baba Yaga lists it as Nubian-derived, with filled variants such as D - k k T - t k D D t k T - t k.

RHY-022 Are rumba and bolero really Arabic rhythms? #

They’re Latin rhythms that became standard in Arabic music, so yes, in practice. Maqamworld lists rumba as a 4/4 iqa’. Baba Yaga gives bolero as D - - - T - - - T - - - D - - - (16ths) and rumba as D - - - - - - - T - - - D - - -, noting that the two differ mainly in accents. You’ll hear both all over mid-century Egyptian film songs.