Understanding music is integral to the wholistic life of a dancer. A dancer is a musician! Melody, rhythm and lyrics are the mediums which transfer the emotional relevance of music to the listeners and participants. When we dance either to interpret music, reflect daily life, or for joy & celebration we also become a medium of reflection, affirmation, prayer and acknowledgement of the many facets of human life. We can enjoy being a "messenger of meaning" more fully if we have some knowledge of the basic structures of rhythm and music.

Arabic and North African music is wonderfully rich in its relevance to daily material and spiritual life of human beings. I feel the primacy of an African pulse swirl with the existential yearning and soul searching of the East. These elements move and inspire me as a dancer and a listener of this music and reflect a certain "big picture" of life. As a teacher who thinks constantly about practicing and teaching integrity, I think it is critical for dancers to become proficient zill players and basic doumbek players. Learning these elements is practicing the big picture of dance.

Music in its most technical bare bones definition is math and mathematical relationships. When I teach basic rhythm theory I often use measuring cups and rulers as a metaphor. Within every measure of music the basic pulses can be divided into smaller and smaller equal divisions. Two primary divisions of a measure are the downbeats (primary pulses, most notably the "1" count) and the upbeats (the pulses between the downbeats - normally called the "and" count.) While rhythm theorists may sometimes like the exclusivity that knowledge provides, dancers need access to the mystery of rhythm. Measuring cups, pizza pie divisions and understanding a ruler aren't that mysterious, so this information is easily accessed and understood my most of us, once someone has opened your eyes to it. Here is a little introduction.

The time signature or meter specifies how many downbeats will be played per measure and at what tempo. For example in a 4/4 time, the top 4 says there are 4 primary downbeats/pulses named "1, 2, 3, 4" and the bottom 4 says to play them in 1/4 note tempo. WE feel these strongly and they are the pulses that most people will clap on when they are enjoying music. These basic 4 can be divided again and then there are basically 8 divisions (4 downbeats and 4 upbeats) which are divided again creating the "e" and the "a" counts for a full 16 even divisions of time. When we play zills and drums we are aware of all 16 of these pulses within every measure, feeling acutely the primacy of the downbeats, and the lead in quality of the upbeats. We may count them in our heads or by mouth phonetically, 1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a for one measure and repeat each measure thereafter.

All time signatures then, refer to how many primary pulses or downbeats make up a measure. In 6/8 time there are 6 downbeats: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, at a 1/8 note tempo and in 9/8 there are 9 primary pulses per measure, using 1/8 notes to mark them. Most dancers feel comfortable with 2/4, 4/4 and 6/8, but the odd time signatures are wonderful to understand and dance too even though they might feel funny at first.

It easier to play and understand odd time signatures if you break them down in sections of 2's and 3's. For example 9/8 can be counted "1 2 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 1 2 3", together making up 9 downbeats or primary pulses per measure.

Zills are played on the middle finger and thumb, with the elastic just covering the moon on the lower nails. To play the zills, the hands and wrists are very relaxed and loose and one brings the the zill of the middle finger to the thumb, rings and releases. Your upper and lower arm muscles should not be the origination of the movement! Practice slowly and evenly and if you can talk or sing the pattern you will be able to play it successfully. Do not begin to dance with the rhythms until you've gotten them into your body so well, you don't even have to think about it. Do not be shy about singing the phonetic rhythmic sounds, this is how every great musician begins their journey.

In the basic patterns below R will denote the right hand and L the left. A star * denotes a rest, no beat is played. ***If you are left handed use the left for the right in the following patterns and right for the left!

Finger cymbals or zills are played utilizing 16th notes as your base tempo as well, and its useful to be able to count rhythm in your head using the 1e&a, 2e&a phonetic divisioning. Singles are the most basic and most important rhythm to play, they are often the hardest to execute in a steady tempo, so if you perfect these, the rest will be easy. Singles denote the marking of either the quarter, eighth or sixteenth notes consitently with no rests in between them. Because there are no rests between notes, there isn't really a pattern. Each successive division means you play more notes per measure, so the zills are striking double the beats before. Lots of repetitions in singles will increase your ability and your meter. Stay relaxed, use your finger joints not your arms.

Notice that when you play just the 4 downbeats that your dominant hand strikes on the 1 and 3, therefore you are playing 1/2 time. When you play the 4 downbeats and the 4 upbeats your dominant hand strikes all 4 downbeats therfore you are playing full time. When you play all 16 divisions of the measure, your dominant hand strikes every downbeat and every upbeat, so you are playing double time.

All of the following zill patterns are counted over 1 measure of 4/4 time in sixteenth notes. If you count every single beat including the rests you get a total of 16 pulses.The first set of pink notation is the musical counting of sixteenth notes. The yellow denotes the hands for a right handed player, the peach set is the numerical pattern you are playing. If you are left handed then switch the R's and L's so the L is playing the dominant downbeat "1" etc.

Notice that the "&a" counts before you strike each downbeat are called "pickups". All of your downbeats (the 1, 2, 3, 4) are struck with your dominant hand.

Basic is the 1st rhythm to learn. It is the one most dancers learn first. Remember * is a rest.

The following drum rhythms are also on the introductory level, but at least a dancer should know these to communicate intelligently with the musicians. At the very least we should be able to say I want a rhythm in 4-6-7 -9 or 2. Again that means how many primary beats per measure, either 4-6-7-9- or2, which you feel as the basic pulse of the music. Dun, Ca & Tek are the names used to denote the different sounds and striking techniques of the hand drum. Dun is the deep bass sound from striking the middle of the drum head with the right closed hand, very slightly cupped. Tek is the sharp high rim strike of the right hand made with the middle joints of the right middle and ring fingers to the right rim. Ca is the complimentary high left hand rim strike from above the drum. The doumbek rests on the left thigh, secured by the left arm/wrist from above, the left elbow remains down on the drum and the right elbow low and into your toro. In the rhythms below a star * is used to denote a 16th note rest. This description assumes a right handed player.

Remember these are only the barebone rhythms and patterns for zills and doumbek and do not substitute for study with an Arabic Rhythm teacher. There are many variations and many more rhythms as well. These pages serve as an introduction to music for dancers, because we need to understand the basics of the music that is fundamental to our art.

I am very blessed in Santa Cruz to have access to some of the most wonderful Arabic Drum Masters. Armando Mafufo and Jonathan Kessler reside here, as well as world beat drummer Rick Walker and Rhythm Fusion owner and drummer Dror Sinai. Two incredible women virtuoso's are nearby in the Bay area, the amazing Susu Pampanin and Mary Ellen Donald.

Armando, Mary Ellen and Jonathan have excellent videos to teach doumbek as well as CD's, & the Sirocco site also sells their signature zills. Saroyan makes world famous quality zills as well, and Rhythm Fusion is a great place to buy a doumbek, percussion instruments, etc. Go to my links page to contact them.

Warm & fuzzy thankyous for the talents of Rick Walker, Armando Mafufo, Michael Gruber, Ganapati, Dror Sinai, Ken Mowrey, Jesh Skye, Allee Barr, and Sahar for their fantastic drumming and music for classes, parades and performances over the years. You are awesome!!! Thankyou to Lane Redmond for her reminder to all of us that some of the first drummers were women.