Music of The Dance

Music used in belly dancing chiefly comes from the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Berber and Hellenic cultures of the Middle East. 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. Some vocal tonality, such as the tajwid in the Qur'an and music during a festival such as Ramadan, relates to religion.

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.

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 belly dancers respond to with soft shimmies of their hips and torso. Drums like the Egyptian darbuka accent a dancer's rolling hip shimmies.

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.