Music for Belly Dancers
Egyptian Music All Serious Bellydancers Should Know
Every serious dancer should be familiar with the classics. Sahra Saeeda advises everyone to learn at least 3 that you know inside and out. In Cairo there were four classic, top singers, including Oum Kalthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Farid al-Atrash. Many of the songs they composed and/or sung were romantic love songs, as well as patriotic and religious songs. Of course, you probably want to stick with the romantic love songs, so you’ll want to know the gist of what a song is about before dancing to it. Also, never dance with the voice of Om Kalthoum, although it’s okay to dance with instrumental versions of her songs and okay to dance during the parts where she is not singing. Most of these songs will be known by Egyptian bands and are the most well know in Cairo and the Arab world. When dancing to a live band, whether performing or just casually dancing along, it’s a lot easier when you are familiar with the songs they play. A belly dancer knowing the most popular dance songs is like a photographer knowing his lenses or a writer knowing other authors. Well, here’s a great place to start. When looking for these songs, remember that there are many ways to spell these Arabic words and there is no right way. So, you may have to sound it out yourself and try various spellings.
Classics sung by Oum Kalthoum:
Alf Layla Wa Layla (One Thousand One Nights) – opening piece
Lissa Fakir (Do You Still Remember)
Ana Fi Intizarak
Leylet Hob, Ente Omry, Fakarouni by Mohammed Abdul Wahab
Classics sung and/or composed by Mohammed Abdul Wahab:
Aziza – Opening piece
Leylet Hob – Opening piece
Zeina – middle of routine
Ente Omry- composed for Oum Kalthoum; great veil song
Nebtedi Mnein al Hikaya (Where do we begin our story)
Fakarouni
Classics sung by Abdel Halim Hafez:
Zay el Hawa by – Opening piece
Habena (Love Us)
Sawah (The Wanderer)
Nebtedi Mnein al Hikaya (Where do we begin our story)
Gana el Hawa (Love has come our way)
Bahlam Beek (I Saw You in My Dream)
Classics composed and sung by Farid al-Atrash:
Gamil Gamal (Beautiful Dancer)
Habena (Love Us)
Hizzy ya Nawaem (Shake it Little Delicate One) middle of routine
Other popular songs:
Princess of Cairo or Banat Iskandria – Opening piece
Set el Hosen – Opening piece
Mashaal by Mokhtar Al Said – Opening piece
Batwanness Beek (You are always with me) -Made popular by Warda El
…..Gaza’iriya -Opening piece
Tamr Henna by Mohamed Fawzi – famous recording by Faiza Ahmad -
…..Opening piece
Hani – Opening piece
Ah Ya Zein – middle of routine
Nour el Ain (Darling You Are the Glow in my Eyes) -sung by Amr Diab –
…..middle of routine
Ayoub – song by Ahmed Fouad Hassan – finale
Touta -song by Mazen Salha- finale
Visit www.maqam.com for the most extensive list of classics which can be purchased as mp3s.
Dahlal has a collection of 14 songs every belly dancer should know, which includes many of the songs listed above. Dahlal lists CDs for purchase containing these songs.http://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?n=20.1
For a basic translation of many Arabic songs, visit shira.net
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
Western Songs with Middle Eastern / Asian Beats
Below is a list of Western songs that use Middle Eastern or Asian Beats/Effects: (I just found this info Online and I’m not so sure how accurate it is.) Let me know your thoughts.
Me Against the Music (Rishi Rich Mix) – Britney Spears
Baby Boy, Beautiful Liar, and Naughty Girl – Beyonce
Danger and Stranger – Hillary Duff
In My Pocket – Mandy Moore
Desert Rose – Sting
Wait For You – Nelly Furtado
Isaac – Madonna
Outrageous – Britney Spears
Kiss Kiss – Holly Valance
Get Ur Freak On – Missy Elliott
Pump up the Volume – MARRS
Toxic – Britney Spears
Tattva – Kula Shaker
Whenever, Wherever- Shakira
Ever so Lonely – Monsoon
Buttons – PCD
Like This – Kelly Rowland
Songs by Shakira
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
Middle Eastern Music vs. Western Music
—Middle Eastern (M.E.) The complexity of the rhythm and the purity of the melodic line are most important in this type of music. In contrast, Western music has a harmonic framework and a beginning, middle and end. M.E. music has an ebb and flow, a continuous development and endless repetition with embellishments and variations.
—M.E. music uses quartertones, a pitch that is half way between a white and black key on a piano
—Western music uses chords (harmony) while M.E. music does not. There’s only one melodic line.
More reading about M.E. music:
Arabic Maqam World – Great site!
Describes type of M.E. music, structure of the music, and instruments used
Zehara’s Site More in-depth description of structure
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
Music for Beginning Belly Dancers
When purchasing music, there are a few things to consider:
You’ll want to find songs with a medium tempo. These are easiest for practicing. Even when practicing shimmies, I’ve found it’s way more productive to practice with medium tempo songs, building up to faster tempos. Discipline is the key. Think of your shimmy as a metronome, it should be even and steady with the tempo of the music.
For practicing drills, Egyptian pop is great because it’s more repetitive than Oriental. For beginners, Egyptian pop is also easier for improvisation.
You should find music that you enjoy, after all, that’s why we’re here, for fun. Hollywood Music Center This site allows you to listen to some of the tracks on each album, and they have a large selection to choose from.
Here are some of my personal recommendations for beginner/intermediate dancers, specifically for practice:
*Sunshine Arabia 2006 or one of the other volumes- Compilation of Egyptian pop and other; lots of medium tempo songs for practice
*Hakim – Any albums by this artist; Egyptian Pop; easy to dance to
*Bellydance Superstars,” Volumes 1-5 – Most people love these songs; You can buy directly from “Bellydance Superstars.”
*Sahara Groove – Variety of artists, medium tempo songs for practice
*The Orient Beats Back, One Thousand & One nights – Remixes by Said Mrad, fast songs with heavy beats, great for shimmy practice
*Tapestry of the Dance by John Bilezikjian and Var Daghdevirian- Turkish, Greek and Persian music; contains a full belly dance routine and other songs
*Kenza by Khaled – Moroccan rai music; easy to dance to
*Dellali by Cheb Mami –Moroccan rai music; easy to dance to
*Arabic Groove and Sahara Lounge by Putumayo World Music – Great listening music and practice songs
*House of Tarab -I can’t end without mentioning H.O.T., based in Seattle! They have two excellent CDs which will introduce you to some belly dance classics and provide you with a good range of various types of songs, including slow taqsims, drum solos, and more…
Also, read my article, “Egyptian Music All Serious Bellydancers Should Know”
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
