Malfuf, Wahda and Chiftitelli

For your review, here's the notation for the "home" version of the rhythm malfuf, which has a 3-3-2 structure:

Malfuf 2/4
1...2...
D..T..T. [listen]

According to Maqam World, this is typically played fast, and most commonly for popular and folkloric music. The Arabic word malfuf means "wrapped" or "spun around."  The same structure played half time, over four beats rather than two, is known as wahda. The Arabic word wahda means "one" or "single", and is more common in classical music.

Wahda 4/4

1.2.3.4.
D..T..T. [listen]

 

Now, check this out:

Chiftitelli 8/4

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.
D..T..T.D.D.T... [listen]

Notice the first half of this rhythm has a 3-3-2 structure over four beats, like wahda. 

The Greek and Turkish languages have the term ciftitelli, which may variously refer to a particular folk dance, or to belly dance in general, or "dance" in general, or to a improvised melodic solo (taqsim) over a slow pulse (see Wikipedia and Shira's Glossary of Belly Dance Terms). 

Confused? If a dancer with a background in NWR (or the SCA) asks for chiftitelli, it's probably a safe bet to play the above rhythm. If any other dancer asks for it, you might best get clarification before taking the stage, just to avoid unwanted surprises. 

Happy Practicing!

Class # 13 - Jan 31

More variations! 

Try these variations on beladi. 

Speaking of...  

Check out the similarity between beladi and masmoodi. 

Which is Which?  

If you're like me, you might struggle to remember which rhythm goes with which rhythm name. Someone calls out "malful" and you go blank,  or you can play along with a track that randomly pops up in your iPod's shuffle just fine (you've spent months playing that rhythm), yet you're stumped to "name that tune". 

Back to a favorite trick from elementary school: Make flash cards! Print these out and carry them around with you. Several times a day, give them a shuffle and either try to correctly recall the name after singing the rhythm to yourself, or recall the rhythm after reading the name. If you have some of them down cold, remove them from your deck so you can concentrate your efforts on the tricky ones. This method can also lets you practice reading TUBS notation.

Directions: Download and carefully print the file on a single sheet of paper (double-sided), then cut the sheet into business-card sized rectangles. Hint: For best results, print them on Avery Business Cards stock (28877 for ink jet, 5871 for laser jet).

Disclaimers: These depict only the core structure of each rhythm to help you associate rhythms with names. 

You may have initially learned these rhythms differently, or happen to know they play them a different way or call them by other names in   (insert place name here)   . That's fine, and even interesting (long discussions ensue...). However, these cards reflect how our we tend to refer to and play the rhythms in our class; This is our local dialect.

Happy Practicing!

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

Class #10 - Jan 10

3-3-2 Variations

Michael introduced a specific variation on the 3-3-2 rhythmic structure

(on doumbek, replace C with T for now):

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .

D.K.K.T.K.K.C.K.T.K.K.D.K.K.T.K.

You might also think of it this way:

1 . . . 2 . . .

D.K.K.T.K.K.C.K.-->
T.K.K.D.K.K.T.K. 

Change it up! Try different combinations (as per Class #8).

More Practice Suggestions

Keep working on your Ka technique, strength and endurance. These may help:

Joshua Levin on Basic Frame Drum - Seated
Alex Spurkel on Doumbek - Ka (Caa)
Vanquish Wimpy Kas in the Car

Homework

Work on your individual and combined Maqsum variations (see Class #9 Review), and come to class prepared to teach it to us.

Class #5 - Nov 8

Rhythm Review

Maqsum 4/4
           1...2...3...4...

Home       D.T...T.D...T...

Walking    D.T.K.T.D.K.T...

Frame Drum Variations:

           1...2...3...4...
Home       D.C...C.D...T...
Walking    D.C.K.C.D.K.T...

Karachi 2/4  
           1 . . . 2 . . .
           T . . k T . D .  
           C . . k C . T .   frame drum variation


Practice Tips

Cycles
Read page 22 of the NWR book for a full explanation of cycles. While you play a rhythm, practice calling out cycles of various lengths by calling "one" on the first beat of your cycle. 

Play Along!
The  ensemble Helm has a few Karachi tracks on the album Itneen. You can hear samples on their website. You can also listen to samples, purchase tracks or buy the whole album from iTunes ($.99/$9.99) or PayPlay.fm ($.88/ $8.88).

More Steering Wheel Practice 
Waiting to turn left? Practice your timing with Left Turn Rolls. 

Class #4 - Nov 1

Class Notes for Nov 1, 2009

Maqsum 4/4
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .
D T . T D . T . home (listen)
D T K T D K T . walking (listen)


Another variation for frame drums:

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .
D C . T C . T . 

Where C="Cha"

Maqsum is sometimes also called "maSmuudii saghiir" (meaning "small masmoodi" - We'll learn the bigger masmoodi later). Jas says that beladi is a folksier version of maqsum.

New Calls

Reset - Break, and the person who calls it sets a new tempo.

N to A - The named individual (A) gets the specified number (N) of beats to fill while the rest of the ensemble is silent.


Practice Suggestions

See Vanquishing Wimpy Kas in Your Car


One fun way to practice your rhythm and timing is to play along with a recording. To practice both maqsum and beladi, you might like to use a track entitled (strangely enough) "Maqsum, Beladi" by The Black Drum from the album Rakshasa. You can hear a sample or buy the whole track for about a quarter. (By the way, this album rocks, and you can (currently) buy the whole thing for $3.26).

Class #3 - Oct. 26

Class Review for Oct. 26

A new handing for walking beladi:

Beladi

1...2...3...4...
D.D...T.D...t... Home (listen)
D.D.K.T.D.K.T... Walking (listen)

Also, review the Class 1 and Class 2 notes. Plenty of stuff to go over!

Happy practicing!

Notes on Notation

The Symbols

D stands for “Dum” – The low note played near the center of the drum with the dominant hand.

T stands for “Tek” – The high note played at the edge of the drum with the dominant hand.

K stands for “Ka” – The high note played at the edge of the drum with the non-dominant hand.

Lowercase t and k are unaccented (unemphasized) notes.
Capital T K and D are accented (emphasized) notes.
. (a dot) represents a silent placeholder in time.

In the NWR book, bold usually indicates a stroke played on the pulse (see p 111). In some notation, bold may indicate an accented or emphasized note.

Numbers count out the numbers of pulses (or "beats") into which a rhythmic phrase will be placed. Dots will mark the regular increments between pulses.

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . shows a 4-pulse rhythmic structure with regular increments between the pulses. 

Ds, Ts, Ks and dots are placed beneath these in the “spots” they occupy:

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .
D . K . T . K . 

Here's another example:

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .
D K T K D K T K 

And here's Joshua explaining it himself: