Music
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!
Shira’s 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…
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
