Beladi and Masmoodi

For many dancers (and drummers), the rhythm commonly known as "beladi" feels comfortably familiar; I heard one dancer describe it as "home base" — it's often the first rhythm one learns to dance to (or play), and it might seem the one you go back to after excursions into other rhythms.

Many Arabic musicians refer to the rhythm as masmoodi saghir, or "small masmoodi". So is there a big version? You bet! What Arabic musicians call masmoodi kabir (big masmoodi) is what musicians and dancers in the U.S. typically refer to as "masmoodi"  [1, 2]. 

Here's the interesting part: they're the same rhythm! Beladi is just double-time masmoodi (and masmoodi is just half-time beladi).

Here's beladi:

And here's masmoodi:

The first is made up with eighths notes and rests, the second with quarter notes and rests.

Here's another way to think of it: Say a dance choreography has eight beats of masmoodi followed by eight beats of beladi; In the first eight beats, masmoodi would play through ONCE, and in the second eight beats, you'll hear beladi TWICE. 

Try listening/dancing to this combination: http://bit.ly/7OqfB4. 

Keep in mind that musicians typically don't play such simple versions - they embellish each of them in very different ways, ideally to compliment and inspire the dancer's moves.

So what about this word "beladi"? It means "of the country" or "old-fashioned" [2], and you'll hear it more commonly in folk or pop music than in classical Arabic music [1].

References:
[1] MaqamWorld.com
[2] Jas's Middle Eastern Rhythm FAQ