Odd-Meter Rhythms: Karsilama, Zeibekiko, 7/8 and 10/8
Karsilama and Roman 9/8, zeibekiko, 5/8, 7/8, 10/8 and 11/8, explained for players who count in four.
17 questions answered
RHY-040 What does “aksak” mean? #
Aksak is Turkish for “limping”, and that’s exactly what it sounds like. It describes meters built from uneven groups of 2s and 3s, so one beat in the cycle is longer than the rest. The common groupings are 2+3 (5), 2+2+3 (7) and 2+2+2+3 (9). In strict Turkish theory, “aksak” means the 2+2+2+3 nine specifically. Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo à la Turk is the famous jazz example of that 9.
RHY-041 What is karsilama and how is it played? #
Karsilama is 9/8 grouped 2+2+2+3: D - T - D - T T T (8ths), with strokes landing on counts 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9. The name means “encounter/face-to-face” and comes from a Turkish couple dance, also danced in Greece. Dubsahara calls it perhaps the most common “odd” rhythm in Middle Eastern music, and it’s a favourite for Turkish-style oriental solos. Once the skeleton is solid, a filled version is D k k T k k D k k T T T (grouping shown loosely).
RHY-042 How do I count 9/8? #
Count it as “1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2-3” (or “short, short, short, long”). Don’t count nine even beats. Baba Yaga stresses that the count isn’t even: those last three pulses have a special swing to them. A Drum Forum instructor suggests counting “1 2 1 2 1 2 1 (2) 3” and not accenting the ninth pulse, so the rhythm “limps” over the long final group. Some people use the words “grape-fruit, grape-fruit, grape-fruit, pineapple”. Whichever you use, start slowly and set the metronome to click the four uneven beats rather than all nine.
RHY-043 What is Roman (Romany) 9/8, and how is it different from karsilama? #
Roman havası (Turkish Romani music) uses the same 9 pulses with a different feel. Baba Yaga’s “basic Romany 9” is D - D - D - T T -: accents on 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8, with the ninth pulse left silent, a quick breath before the next bar. That gap is what makes it feel more kinetic and bouncy than the heavier karsilama. There are plenty of variants, and Turkish Roman players stack a lot of fills on top.
RHY-044 Is the Arabic aqsaq the same as the Turkish 9/8? #
Same 2+2+2+3 frame, different stroke pattern. Baba Yaga gives Arabic aqsaq as D - T - D - D T -. Maqamworld says the standard form has a rest on beat 6, and that an alternate form fills that rest for a double stroke echoing samai thaqil. You’ll meet it mainly in muwashshah songs rather than dance.
RHY-045 What is zeibekiko? #
Zeibekiko is a Greek solo dance in 9/8 or 9/4. Wikipedia gives both, and the grouping is usually felt as 2+2+2+3 or as 4+5. It’s slow, heavy and improvised, traditionally danced by one man in a small circle, and often called the “dance of the eagle”. Baba Yaga’s skeleton pattern is in quarter-beats, roughly D D D T D D D T T, with 16th pickups. Note: it’s slow and phrased so differently from karsilama that plenty of listeners never hear it as a 9 at all.
RHY-046 What is the difference between karsilama and zeibekiko if both are 9s? #
Tempo, weight and phrasing. Karsilama is a light, fast 9/8 whose “long” group falls at the end (2+2+2+3). Zeibekiko is a slow, brooding 9, often notated 9/4, phrased in two halves, with a solo improvised feel. One cultural detail worth knowing: traditionally nobody applauds a zeibekiko dancer.
RHY-047 What is türk aksağı (5/8)? #
It’s a 5-pulse Turkish rhythm grouped 2+3 (Wikipedia’s aksak article). On darbuka you’ll usually see it as D - T - T (8ths). Baba Yaga describes it as a 2-2-1 pattern (A’rag / aqsaq turki). Flip the groups round and the 3+2 version is called hücum semai (Chromatone).
RHY-048 What is dawr hindi / devr-i hindi (7/8)? #
It’s a 7-pulse rhythm, used heavily in the Arabic muwashshah repertoire. Maqamworld’s examples include Sayyed Darwish’s Sihtu Wajdan and a Rahbani brothers muwashshah sung by Fairouz. A common skeleton is D T T D - T - (8ths). Grouping is disputed: Baba Yaga notes both 3+2+2 and 2+2+3, and Chromatone lists devr-i hindi as 4+3. Given that, learn it from a recording of a muwashshah rather than off the page.
RHY-049 What is the laz rhythm? #
Laz is a 7/8 counted 2+2+3: D - D - T - - (8ths), often filled as D - k - D - k - T - k - t - (16ths). It takes its name from the Laz people of the Black Sea coast, and it’s played in Greece too. Baba Yaga contrasts it with the 3+2+2 kalamatianos, which is the useful comparison to hold onto: same seven pulses, long group at the other end.
RHY-050 What is kalamatianos? #
It’s a Greek circle-dance rhythm in 7/8 grouped 3+2+2 (“slow, quick, quick”): D - - T - T - (8ths), filled as D - t k t - D - t k T - t - (16ths). Baba Yaga describes it as slow-3, quick-2, quick-2, repeated twice per phrase.
RHY-051 What is the Bulgarian rachenitsa 7/8? #
Rachenitsa is a Bulgarian solo or couple dance in 7 pulses. It’s usually written 7/16 because it’s fast, and grouped 2+2+3, sometimes felt as 4+3. A simple darbuka mapping is D - T - T - -, accenting the start of each group. Balkan players tend to play it on tapan or tarabuka with dense fills. (This mapping is a practical reduction, not a traditional stroke pattern.)
RHY-052 What is kopanitsa (11/8)? #
Kopanitsa is a lively line dance from western Bulgaria, the Shopluk region around Sofia. It’s in 11 pulses grouped 2+2+3+2+2, “quick-quick-slow-quick-quick” (Wikipedia). A practical darbuka mapping is D - T - D - - T - T -, with the long group sitting in the middle. Its faster northern cousin is written 11/16 (gankino).
RHY-053 What is samai thaqil (10/8)? #
Samai thaqil (“heavy samai”) is a 10-pulse cycle: D - - T - D D T - - (8ths), with dums on 1, 6 and 7 and teks on 4 and 8. It’s the main rhythm of the Ottoman/Arabic instrumental samai form, and it’s popular in muwashshah (maqamworld). The Turkish equivalent is aksak semai. Groupings differ: it’s often taught as 3+2+2+3, while Chromatone lists aksak semai as 2+2+2+2+2.
RHY-054 What is jorjina / curcuna (10/8)? #
It’s a 10-pulse rhythm grouped 3+2+2+3, used widely in Iraq, Iran, Kurdish and Turkish music (maqamworld), and in some Tunisian malouf. A common skeleton is D - T T - D - T - - (8ths), with accents on 1, 4, 6 and 8. Baba Yaga notes it can also be written 10/16, or felt as two fives, which is often the easier way in. Maqamworld’s examples include Nazem al-Ghazali’s Ya Umm il-‘Uyun il-Sud.
RHY-055 What is murabba? #
Murabba’ is a long classical cycle. Maqamworld lists it as 13/4 and says it’s mostly confined to the muwashshah repertoire. Its examples are muwashshahat by Muhammad ‘Uthman and Sayyed Darwish, plus a tabla demonstration by Faisal Zedan. Oddly enough, murabba’ means “squared” or “based on four”, and maqamworld notes that the name has nothing to do with the 13-beat meter. The maqamworld page shows the stroke pattern only as a graphic, and no text source was found that spells it out, so no stroke pattern is given here. Learn this one from the maqamworld audio.
RHY-056 What is “tawil”? #
“Tawil” (“long”) is a general label for long, stretched rhythms rather than one rhythm. The clearest documented example is Baba Yaga’s wahda tawila, a slow 4/4 laid out D - - - - - T - - - - - T - - - (16ths, a 3+3+2 feel). Some teachers also use “tawil” loosely for slow 8/4 wahda/masmoudi feels. No single standard pattern was found, so ask whoever uses the word what they mean by it.