Check out my new lens on Squidoo all about Belly Dancing Music.
There's info on different styles of belly dance music which I'll be expanding on, as well as video examples and a chance to comment on your favourite style of music.
Enjoy!
Issy
Modern Belly Dancing Music
There are many instruments native to oriental Dance, that you will still find in the music of the Middle East (and beyond) today.
The Dumbek is probably one of the most well-known instruments, as it is often played solo for a dancer. It is a goblet shaped drum that is held under the arm and played with both hands.
The Kanoon is a string instrument that dates from at least the 900s and sits on the lap or on a table like a zither. Another ancient string instrument, the Oud, is similar to a lute and played by plucking. The Rebab and Saz (or Baglama) are also common string instruments in traditional Oriental Dance music.
In the woodwind section, you will find the Mizmar (or Surnay), which is similar to a clarinet (and is known as the "snake charmer" instrument to many), and the Ney (or Qassaba) that is so ancient it appears in Egyptian pyramid wall paintings.
All these instruments are still used in Belly Dancing music today and often teamed with more modern keyboards, guitars, accordians, and violins.
The Dumbek is probably one of the most well-known instruments, as it is often played solo for a dancer. It is a goblet shaped drum that is held under the arm and played with both hands.
The Kanoon is a string instrument that dates from at least the 900s and sits on the lap or on a table like a zither. Another ancient string instrument, the Oud, is similar to a lute and played by plucking. The Rebab and Saz (or Baglama) are also common string instruments in traditional Oriental Dance music.
In the woodwind section, you will find the Mizmar (or Surnay), which is similar to a clarinet (and is known as the "snake charmer" instrument to many), and the Ney (or Qassaba) that is so ancient it appears in Egyptian pyramid wall paintings.
All these instruments are still used in Belly Dancing music today and often teamed with more modern keyboards, guitars, accordians, and violins.
Belly Dancing Music that Sings to You
Traditionally, Oriental Dancing was spontaneous and so was its music. Live musicians (or even just a single drummer) would play while the dancer interpreted the music. The music or rhythm might change and lead the dancer in a new direction and vice versa.
Today, composed music is often used by belly dancers and moves may be choreographed and practised.
Today not all dancing is performed to traditional compositions. Egyptian Cabaret Dancers may perform with live musicians or to recorded music - sometimes to traditional music and other times to modern Egyptian pop music.
ATS dancers often maintain a folkloric sound using traditional instruments, but fused with instruments from India or the Far East, while ATS offshoots will perform to anything from Goth bands to Hip-Hop, Electronica to Latin pop.
As a dancer, the music should speak to you on a personal level, whatever the style. Personally, there is nothing like the music of Israeli singer Ofra Haza to make me shimmy (my own belly dance teacher introduced me to her music through the pop song "Show Me"):
If the music "sings" to you and makes you want to dance, it doesn't matter what it is.
Today, composed music is often used by belly dancers and moves may be choreographed and practised.
Today not all dancing is performed to traditional compositions. Egyptian Cabaret Dancers may perform with live musicians or to recorded music - sometimes to traditional music and other times to modern Egyptian pop music.
ATS dancers often maintain a folkloric sound using traditional instruments, but fused with instruments from India or the Far East, while ATS offshoots will perform to anything from Goth bands to Hip-Hop, Electronica to Latin pop.
As a dancer, the music should speak to you on a personal level, whatever the style. Personally, there is nothing like the music of Israeli singer Ofra Haza to make me shimmy (my own belly dance teacher introduced me to her music through the pop song "Show Me"):
If the music "sings" to you and makes you want to dance, it doesn't matter what it is.
Belly Dancing Music - Buying
I'm often asked for the best places to buy Belly Dancing Music and my first suggestion is always Maqam.
They sell modern and traditional music for Belly Dancers of many different styles, from Egyptian to Lebanese, Morrocan to Turkish. I promise you will get lost in the site listening to samples and enjoying the eclectic mix of music.
Also at Maqam you can buy traditional instruments and instructional dvds and videos.
Happy Shopping!
Issy
They sell modern and traditional music for Belly Dancers of many different styles, from Egyptian to Lebanese, Morrocan to Turkish. I promise you will get lost in the site listening to samples and enjoying the eclectic mix of music.
Also at Maqam you can buy traditional instruments and instructional dvds and videos.
Happy Shopping!
Issy
History of Drums
What You Need To Know About Drums
By Marcus Peterson
What would music be without drums? Drums are responsible for providing the backbone of the song. The drummer holds the rest of the song together by providing the other musicians with a beat to follow. Even if a song doesn’t specifically include drums, more than likely they do include other percussion instruments.
History of Drums
Percussion instruments have been used since ancient times. Drums especially were popular because they could be made using easily obtainable materials. Generally speaking, drums include a hollowed out body which could be made of wood, clay, gourds, and other materials with some kind of animal skin or membrane stretched over the top. Ancient drums have been found in archaeological dig sites and can be viewed in museums.
Drums Throughout the Cultures
Different cultures have different kinds of percussion instruments. In the west, the drum set is popular. In Latin music, the drum kit includes other items such as shakers and cow bells. In Africa, the djembe and congo are popular drums. Other cultures use steel drums and other drums that are made from different materials such as gourds and animal skins.
Using Drums from other Countries
In today’s society, the media and internet have opened us up to different types of music. As a result of this, more western artists are starting to embrace other percussion instruments. For example, it isn’t uncommon for a song to include different hand drums borrowed from the African or Middle Eastern cultures.
If you are interested in using drums from other countries, your best bet is to expose yourself to the traditional music to get a feel for how the drums are traditionally played. It is fine to borrow an instrument from another tradition, but to get the most out of the experience it is worth it to learn the traditional playing styles.
Drums provides detailed information on Drums, Drum Sets, Steel Drums, Custom Drums and more. Drums is affiliated with Electronic Drum Sets.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marcus_Peterson
technorati tags:belly+dancing, belly+dance, bellydance, bellydancing, belly+dancing+music, middle+eastern+music
Arabic Music and Lyrics
Audience's Perception Of Songs
By Mahmoud Ibrahim
Any songwriter knows that a song will not make it without having well-written music and perfectly crafted lyrics. But the interaction between music and lyrics in a song poses two questions. The first is which is more important and the second is which should be written first. Nevertheless, the second question is not truly an issue; as it is simply a matter of personal preference and habit. The question that really needs answering is in fact the first: “Which is more important?!”
To answer this question, we have to examine the audience perception of songs. Songs are written for people to hear them; therefore the way they identify with songs is most relevant and crucial to the songwriting process. A good songwriter should examine his/her audience beforehand and, consequently, shape the song to be as easily conceived as possible by its intended audience.
As I belong to western music by education (classical music) and to oriental music by birth (being from Egypt), I have examined -as deeply as I could- the perception of songs by both Arabic listeners and European listeners. My conclusion is that those two different cultures produced very differently biased people.
The Arabic culture and legacy is based heavily on poetry while music remained trivial. Consequently, for Arabic listeners the lyrics come first and music is reduced to a melodic vehicle for the lyrics with the least amount of arrangement possible. Lyrics come first for Arabic listeners!
On the other hand, Europe’s music heritage is enormous with a lot of genius composers who will always be remembered. At the same time, Europe's great poets used the type of language that today needs a lot of simplification to understand. The music reaches the European listener before the lyrics!
So, does this mean that one can write "bad" lyrics for European listeners and get away with it?! Of course NOT!! They eventually catch up. Also, Arabic listeners will not listen to a song with bad music. The idea is that if your audiences care less for lyrics, then they wouldn’t “appreciate” a complex lyric. In fact, they wouldn’t understand it and will label it as “bad”. It has to be “good” but not “complex”.
It’s all about complexity. Arabic listeners will settle down with a nice melody that fits the lyrics well. It has to be nice, but it CAN’T be complex!! My mother thinks that Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” is “louder” than music should be. I think she meant to say: “too complicated for music”. Conversely, European listeners will not settle for a nice melody, you have to have strong chord progressions, a powerful base line and a strong drum line.
So, I write more complicated lyrics for Arabic listeners and more complicated music for European listeners. Study YOUR OWN audiences and see what they like and to which side they are biased, so you know how to adjust your song’s complexity. But beware; sometimes “less complicated” means “more difficult to write”…Wish you simple songwriting!!
Mahmoud Ibrahim is a young songwriter from Egypt. He is the owner of http://www.songwritingfever.com/, the first website to be dedicated to songwriting collaboration.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mahmoud_Ibrahim
technorati tags:belly+dancing, belly+dance, bellydance, bellydancing, belly+dancing+music, arabic+music
Belly Dancing Music Blog
Belly Dancing Music and Arabic/Middle Eastern music in general is becoming more and more popular. This blog is going to take a closer look at Belly Dancing music.
Issy
Issy
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