History

• Music used in belly dancing chiefly comes from the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Berber and Hellenic cultures of the Middle East. (See References 3) Arabic cultures developed an appreciation for music before the spread of the Islamic faith in the 6th century. Arabia conquered Persia in the 6th century and subsequently converged their unique musical traditions with poetic elements. The early orthodox Islam sects considered music, and dancing, sinful and religiously unworthy. (See References 4) Some vocal tonality, such as the tajwid in the Qur'an and music during a festival such as Ramadan, relates to religion. (See References 3)
  
  

Types of rhythm and moves

• Dancers express the rhythm in songs with various techniques depending on the music available. Taqsim refers to an introduction of free rhythm in the song. Belly dancers improvise with their bodies to a solo instrument rather than learn a choreographed move. Middle Eastern music with full orchestration leads the dancer into broader sweeps and turns that encapsulate the multiple instruments. A belly dancer may also create accents with a brief and sharp hip movement on a single beat. (See References 1)
  
  

Instruments

• Belly dancing music uses different wind, string and percussion instruments pertaining to a specific region of the Middle East. A reed flute called the nay produces a delicate and haunting sound used in a spiritual whirling of the arms and upper body. The oud is a wooden lute with a pear shape. Strumming this guitar-like instrument creates rhythms that cause belly dancers to respond with soft shimmies of their hips and torso. Drums like the Egyptian darbuka accent a dancer's rolling hip shimmies. (See References 1)
  
  

Finger Cymbals

• A belly dancer with finger cymbals.
  
  A belly dancer may use an instrument call the zill or sagat during performance. These finger cymbals help a dancer maintain the beat during a song or when there is no other musical instrument. According to the Joyful Dancer website, a writer from the 1st century A.D. witnessed an Eastern-style dancer performing with castanets---a handheld percussion instrument like the finger cymbals. The origin of musical accompaniment to these types of Middle Eastern dances may have been Thebes, around 200 B.C., or Greece as far back as 500 B.C. (See References 2)
  
  

Terminology

• Al-qadim denotes the traditional music of the Arabo-Ottomans in Egypt that became replaced by contemporary musical forms in the 20th century. Traditional Arabic music often contains a sama'i instrumental composition originating from the Ottoman Empire. The arrangement contains a melodic segment between two periods of refrain with the melody carrying a 10/8 rhythm. Arabesk refers to a recent form of pop music in Turkey that can be placed with oriental dance types such as belly dancing. (See References 3)