I’ve been receiving many emails and requests from enthusiastic students lately in regard to learning and exploring finger cymbals. I cannot express how pleased I am with the new found excitement in learning these wonderful instruments, which, in my opinion are indispensible to Middle Eastern Dance.
I’ve always been fascinated with finger cymbals. Perhaps it was my quest to be a drummer as a child. I saw Sheila E as the goddess of all goddesses, and begged for a drum set for my tenth birthday, hoping one day I could play ( and work a fabulous pair of lace pants) like her. My parents refused, and I never got the opportunity to drive them nuts pounding on a drum set , but my desire to learn a percussive instrument came to fruition when I discovered these brilliant brass instruments.
When I first began to explore this dance form I knew from the get go that I wanted to be a master at two things – Sword Dancing and finger cymbals. Although many dancers at the time (especially) in the Bellydance competition arena, were not including finger cymbals into their performances, I knew I wanted to dance with them and included sagat playing in all my routines. Seven years after I entered the competition circuit, still only a handful of dancers play finger cymbals, and if they play at all, it’s generally triplets (RLR) for a brief part, and then removed. I’m hoping more dancers will continue to find inspiration in finger cymbals and learn to embrace them.
I have all my aspiring competitive dancers and beginning students begin with finger cymbals from the get go (Whether they want to or not!). In my opinion a complete dancer should be able to play them effortlessly within their routines, choreographed or improvised in addition to have a repertoire of rhythms. In my Basics class we begin dance movement with finger cymbals and work to perfect three rhythms that work in the 4/4 music pattern – Triplets (RLR), Beledi and what I call a full roll (1eaa2eaa). With these three rhythms we build on moving and if practiced with consistency dancers will be dancing and playing music effortlessly in a very short amount of time. The earlier you start moving with finger cymbals, the better, which is why I have them start early and stress the importance of loving, appreciating these wonderful instruments.
We continue with finger cymbals in intermediate and advanced classes, exploring more complex movement and rhythms including straight ahead and filled varieties of 4/4, 2/4, 6/8 and 9/8. My method is somewhat unconventional than most teachers and dancers in that, I teach my students to play by ear. We do not learn the 3 3 4 etc method, because in my opinion that style does not address the rhythm you are playing and can make combining movement with musicianship more difficult. Afterall, we are dancers, our intention is to play an instrument and move at the same time. My style consists of identifying the rhythm, the downbeat and then building from there. Even before laying my eyes on any Middle Eastern rhythm notations/ books, I approached my choreographies and performances in this way. I would just listen to the music and play accordingly. I feel this approach has helped my students dance and move with finger cymbals more freely and in a shorter period of time. I tell them that it does not matter if your rhythm is textbook or not…just play on beat!
I hope this has given you a peek into my method and I look forward to dancing with you. Happy Zilling!
