drumming for dancers-by hossam ramzy

8/3/2019 Drumming for Dancers-By Hossam Ramzy

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by Hossam Ramzy

Revised 23 / 10 / 2007

This article is an excerpt from my DVD book named 'Rhythms of the Nile /

Drumming 4 Belly Dancers' which is to be released later this year. However, I have

published this part as an article because I see the demand for this information isgrowing, judging by avalanche of letters and e-mails I receive from drummers and

dancers around the world. It is based on a previous article called 'Been There, Done

That, Read the Book, Seen the Film and Bought the t-shirt'.

Having drummed for dancers since I can't remember when, I have come to realise

some important rules that a "A Good Dancer's Drummer" should adhere to when

drumming for a dancer. To be a good drummer for dancers, you have to understand

what Egyptian / Middle Eastern dancing is about. My rule is this:

The true art of oriental dancing is to visually hear the music'.

What does that mean? It means that every sound made by the music MUSTbe

translated into a three dimensional movement by the dancer. For example, if the entire

orchestra is playing together in a long phrase - be it in the introduction, the finale or in

the middle of the composition - then the dancer should make large movements across

and around the stage and use more of the space available to her than when a single

musician is playing a solo (i.e. alone).

I am not going to try to tell any dancer what movements to make or ever try to tell

another drummer what rhythms, frills or accents he / she should play in such parts of

the musical composition. But they should both realise that this is a big sound by the

whole orchestra or a small sound by a soloist and perform accordingly.

This rule shed light on an important study of musical translation. I have often asked

myself'How should a dancer translate music?'. I feel many dancers, drummers and

musicians are hungry for the answer to this question too. Come to think about it..

Now that we have ALL realised that it is OUR DUTY to educate the AUDIENCE that

Belly Dancing is not a cheap form of striptease, we should also inform them about

this. But before we do that, we need to know it ourselves.

This led me to my unique discovery of a simple but powerfully effective and

artistically scientific formula for musical interpretation:
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E = E in its size and direction. 2000 Copyright Hossam Ramzy.

What is the 1st "E"?

This is the musical sound you hear. Be it by the orchestra or the soloist.

What is the 2nd "E"?

This is the movement made by the dancer in response to that same musical sound.

This movement should be equal in length and size and power to that same sound of

the music. It should also change direction every time the musical sound makes the

slightest change. To achieve this, the dancer must understand how musical pieces are

constructed, so below is a brief, simple but very understandable description of the

structure of music and how it should be interpreted by a dancer.

As a drummer, if you understand this, you will be able to understand what is expected

of the dancer and therefore be able to understand what sort of drumming sounds youwill be free to choose when you are drumming for a dancer.

In any musical composition, we have four basic layers:

Rhythm

Melody

Orchestral phrase (LAZMAH) Harmony

So, lets take them one at a time:

Rhythm:

Dancers & Drummers should know quite a bit about this already and if they don't they

should read the first section of my DVD book. This is an instructional Workshop style

DVD/Book and CD about how to learn to play Egyptian Rhythms and the various

percussion instruments such as the Tabla, Rique, Duffs, Mazhar & Sagat (finger

cymbals / Zills) that I have written and am in the middle of shooting and editing

between Egypt and England as you read this article. This project will be released on

the ARC Music label and will be at your top and best Hossam Ramzy / ARC Music

standard and quality of recording, editing and presentation.

Melody:

Melody is the musical sound derived from musical notes being played one after the

other in a particular sequenced arrangement. They have timed spaces between each

note to create one final musical phrase and this is in direct relation to the rhythm

being played. This means that it follows the timing of the rhythm and the click

(metronome) of the rhythm.

In Egyptian and many other styles of music, the melody is divided and created into a

question and answer format (Q & A). A soloist will ask the question and theorchestra will play the answer ( to complete the bars of the music ) or vice versa.


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Some melody phrases are played in one bar of music, some in two and some in four,

depending on the composition.

Depending on what type of instrument is asking the question, dancers can and should

be able to predict what kind or type of movement to make. I have split the solo

instruments into three families to explain this further:

a. The Nay family:

The Nay family includes the Nay (flute) and Kawala. If you wish to listen to sound of

these two instruments, you will find a good example on the CD called 'Master of the

Arabian Flute'EUCD 1852, available from my website www.hossamramzy.com.

When the Nay or Kawala are playing, they mostly make a legato (long), breathy,

haunting sound that is usually slow and linear in shape. Sometimes, Nay or Kawala

players might play fast, short staccato sounds but these instruments are usually played

in legato. So, one expects the dancer to make slow, elongated movement, undulatingserpentine movement and using high, sometimes open arms movements ('praying to

the gods in the sky - style) or maybe even sitting or kneeling on the floor while doing

so.

One should never expect to see a dancer

shimmying to the sound of the nay or kawala

unless the soloist is playing a fast, staccato

sound.

So, when drumming 4 a dancer over a Nay orKawala solo, please choose to play as little as

possible of the trills, frills and little tricks and

just keep the pulse and rhythms going.

A Full Set of 7 Nays

b. The Qanun / Oud family

The Qanun instrument has 87 strings in groups of three. It makes a 'trrrrrring' soundfrom each stroke of the strings. So, if a dancer is translating this sound correctly, she

should be shimmying in order to be able to visually translate that sound for us.

THE QUANUN in playing position
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The Accordion

The Mizmar

3 Mizmars

The Saxophone


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The trumpet

A Keyboard

The keyboard. This is an electronic piano like instrument that simulates sounds ofmany of the above instruments or synthesise similar or different sounds.

A dancer is expected to move with each sound from these instruments above,

according to how the soloist is playing. If he makes a sound, she moves in one

direction with it. If he changes sound from one note to another however SLOW or

FAST, SHORT or LONG, she should change direction with it each time he changes

notes.

This is what E = E in its size and directionmeans.

The term "THIS MUSIC MOVES ME" is what this is all about. It is nothing more

and nothing less.

As you may or may not know and as I have always said it. I have seen more dancers

than there are living on planet earth today. The only style of dancer I have any

respect for is the one that dances the music and portrays the music 100%. Otherwise it

is not dancing. It is something else I have no name for.

I have even been asked by many dancers: "What do you think of the (some country)'s

style of Belly Dance?" My answer is always:

"Does this "supposed style" of dancing portray the music 100% in a 3 D fashion?"

"Do ALL the dancers in that country dance that same style?"

If not? Then I thinknothing of that "Country's" supposed style of dance and this

supposed style of dance can not be named that (some country)'s style of anything. Not

even in Egypt. I have seen some dancers in Egypt who's dancing had nothing to do

with the music they were supposed to be dancing to.

However, to go back to the issue at hand which is: Understanding what is expected

from a dancer by the drummer. I would like to add that as these instruments aboveare often played solo, as a drummer you should expect that the dancer will express the


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sound of ONE member of the band by dancing to it while using less space than with

A FULL orchestra and not move around the stage creating large movements with

large shapes. This is what makes the difference in creating a 3 D shape of the sound of

the music.

The rule is simple: E = E in its size and direction.

When the FULL ORCHESTRA is playing, you should expect the dancer to use and

utilize a larger part of the stage and to create big waves of movement, make her

choreography look as big as the orchestral sound.

When a soloist is playing, the dancer should do just the opposite. The same goes for

you as a drummer. When the full orchestra is performing, open up your playing,

flourish with the big flourishes and accentuate the big accentuations of the

orchestration. Support the dancer in her big movements. When a soloist is soloing,

then pull backa lot. Hold on tojust keeping the metronomeof the basic rhythm.

Only flourish at the end of the phrase and make HIM (the soloist) look and soundAMAZING to the dancer and to the audience. Make sure the dancer has the chance to

enjoy the solo. And in turn, she will present an inspiring moment with her movements

for all concerned. This will also help the dancer to do less as YOU are her guide of

volume of movement. So, in short, you must help create the magic to be part of the

magic.

If you don't do this, your playing (however good and lovely it may be) will act as a

distraction to the dancer and the audience not to mention the soloist. She will not be

concentrating on the soloist's sound and it will look very messy indeed. As a Tabbal,

your job is simple and clear. Hold the rhythm and metronome of the music, so that the

musicians can play the music correctly to your rhythm. This way the dancer will

understand both the music and the rhythm clearly and will then be able to translate it

into a 3 Dimensional movement. How fast you can play this or that piece of music is

irrelevant. We know you can. How complex can you make this music sound is your

own problem. But this is not what is expected of you as a drummer. You are the time

keeper, not the space filler.

Just hold the rhythm and metronome of the music. This is the drummer's job.

As a drummer, you will ask me WHY? Well, you see, the soloist will play in and out

of time, will stretch the length of a note and will fly off on a magical trip whileenjoying the moment and the 3 D shape of his sound made by the dancer. YOU are

the one who is saying to BOTH of them (soloist and dancer) as well as the rest of the

orchestra:

Here is a delicious version of the 1,2,3,4 of the rhythm but look at the dancer. how she isinterpreting the solo so well and now:

Come on. THIS is where the solo part ends and

HERE is the new start of the next phrase you should be playing or dancing.

This is what the dancer is meant to tell the audience, with her movement:


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This is what the sound of the FULL ORCHESTRA looks like in 3D and

This is what the sound of the SOLOIST looks like in 3D.

You are the architect of the picture. You tell them ALL, Orchestra, Soloists, Dancer

and Audience:

This is the size of each part of the music.

The scale of this map is 1: ???, and

It is YOU (the drummer) who translates the map to them all and make them

understand the dimension of the pyramid of sound being created.

If a dancer feels that she needs to practice translating the various sounds of the

various soloing instruments in order to help her understand the various ways a soloist

can play, I recorded and produced two albums

- 'Source of Fire'EUCD 1305 &

- 'Secrets of the Eye'EUCD 1554

to introduce some of the dancers who do not know the various sounds of a few of

these instruments to help them become accustomed to these instrument's styles of

performance.

You may ask me here: What should the dancer do with the Orchestral Answers in the

Q & A part of the melody?

It is the dancer's duty to portray the difference between the sounds in the music. So,

while the soloist is playing his phrase then the orchestra answers the soloist, this is the

time when the dancer should make larger movements in accordance with the melodic

phrase of the orchestral response in an

E=E in its size and direction.

This is to reflect and portray and 3 DIMENTIONALIZE those answers. However,

movement to the answers should not be as large as those made during the LAZMAH(the orchestral phrases after the Q & A parts of the melody). It should be just larger

than the movement for the soloist and just expresses the difference of sounds in

motion.

So, What is a Lazmah? It is an orchestra / orchestration phrase. Be it short or long.

3. Orchestral phrases, The LAZMAH:

These phrases occur either at the start of a composition or in the middle between

verses or to answer the soloist in a Q&A between the soloist and the orchestra. Or it

can even come between a soloist and another. Like when a Nay asks a questions andthe Qanun answers.
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If the Lazmah is being played by the full orchestra playing in unison or with various

arranged parts by various sections of the orchestra (and of course depending on the

size of the orchestra), the dancer should have the use of the whole of the stage at this

time. The dancer can also use as much of the stage as is possible at her disposal and

should use it. This is the part of the composition where the dancer has full freedom to

move around, to create larger shapes that portray and express the musical soundcreated by a large number of musicians as in a Lazmah.

Also, after the Q & A part of the melody, the orchestra will play a Lazmah to continue

with the same feel of the song / composition or to change the original feel into a new

one.

4. Harmony:

Harmony is a musical sound that follows the main melody. It is played as a second or

third layer of sound closely following the melody, parallel to it. Sometimes the

Harmony may move against or opposite the main melody (musically speaking) tocreate depth to the sound and extra variety that can be called "Counter Harmony". But

let's not complicate things more than they actually are.

Harmony is the background sound of music running under the melody to create the

emotional atmosphere being portrayed by original composition.

Musicians do not expect dancers to translate harmony. However, when the harmony

takes over from the melody from time to time in a piece of music, the dancer should

take that as the main part of the music to be translated and present this to the

audience.

A very good example of this, following the harmony is clearly expressed in our DVD

"Visual Melodies"TIn the song "We Maly Bas". Here, in the repeat of the second

verse, I made the violins mirror the solo of Qanun plus they took over the sound. At

this moment, Serena choreographed that part of the harmonic orchestration and

portrayed it to be the main part of the melody of that second verse repeat. Then when

the solo went back to the Qanun, Serena went back to E = Eing the solo of the Qanun.

100% full portrayal and 3 Dimensionalizing of the musical composition.

However, when it comes to group performances Harmony can play a big role withinthe choreography here. You can layer your dancers in various ways and depending on

the number of dancers you can use them to portray the various parts of the music you

are choreographing:

Rhythm.

Melody.

Lazmahs.

Harmony.
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Having explored various depths of musical translations that musicians can expect

from the dancer, this question has always nagged on my mind

"How should musicians support dancers while she is performing?"

Personally, I believe that it is MY DUTY as a drummer to make each bar and eachphrase of rhythm understood to the dancer, the orchestra (including the soloists) as

well as the audience. I have to let them ALL know where each bar of the music is and

I have to let them ALL know where the next group of four bars is going to start.

Predictability is the best way to guarantee that all will feel the groove and hook to the

music and be mesmerised by the dancer's portrayal of the music.

Dance music, much as almost all songs is created in groups of 4 bars. Even if the

rhythm is not in 4/4 the musical phrases change or repeat in groups of four.

Occasionally, they are in groups of two or a single extra bar but that is not usual and

is done to add a complimentary phrase to enhance the meaning or to add an ending to

the previous sound.

It is the drummer's job to keep the tempo of the rhythm and inform all the members of

the band, including the dancer, where the musical changes are supposed to happen. In

Arabic, the percussionist or drummer is named 'Daubet Al Iqaa' - "The controller of

the pulse and the beat of the music". So just do your job. Beautifully.

The dancer is "The last instrumentalist of the band".

The drummer is meant to create the rhythm. This is steady, musical sound that is

characterized by regularly occurring accented beats for the orchestra to put theirmelodies over it and in and out of its steady-ness. Once this is achieved, the drummer

is given license to decorate the rhythm and accentuate the various aesthetic steps of

the dancer that are created by her

3 Dimensionalizing of the music.

Dancers make various shapes and accents with their body movements, divided into

various counts according to the number of beats in the bar of the rhythm of the song.

The drummer is expected to accentuate the strongest of the accents she makes. He /

she may accentuate it with a slap (sakkah) or, if it is in a soft delicate part of themusic, he may accentuate it with a cupped 'tick'.

In the orchestral parts, such as in introductions, I personally like to play as steady as

possible, keeping the rhythm clean and clear and only expressing flourishes where the

music demands it. This keeps the phrase comprehensible to all members of the band

and makes sure that when I feel like adding something extra as a frill or a decorative

phrase it will stand out, will be heard and be appreciated.

After the big introduction there comes the question and answer section


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(the melody). In this part, I like to understand both the question and answer in depth

and understand the intention of the composer, that is if it not me. I like to know first

of all:

Who is asking the question? Is it the soloist or the orchestra?

Who is answering? Is it the soloist or the orchestra?

Which soloist is playing? Is it Nay? Accordion? Violin? Qanun? Trumpet?

Saxophone? Keyboard? or Oud? Or what?

How long is the question?And how long is the answer?

Do I need to fill in any gap that is left out in the question or answer?

However long or short the question is you will find that the answer will complete the

cycle of rhythm for that question. If it does not, as a drummer you have licence tocomplete it for them. Providing it is not meant as a stop. I do not appreciate it when I

hear a drummer filling the space of a deliberate STOP in the melody with some frill.

If the composer wanted to have a stop there, then let it be a stop. This is what makes

this particular piece of music what it is. But if you are filling a particular part, please

do it with sensitivity. Make them ALL, orchestra, soloist, dancer and audience

understand where the next phrase is meant to be starting?

I pay close attention to the fact that I must respect the space of the soloist and leave

him enough room to be creative while, at the same time, giving him the rhythm to

play over. I never try to show off over what he is playing just because what he isimprovising happens to be melting my heart with joy. When the orchestra answers

with the answer section, then I have to indicate and accentuate that by playing the

rhythm stronger or by slightly decorating it. You will find that the question and

answer section of the music runs in groups of fours. Four questions and answers,

possibly four times. Drummers must make it clear to the dancer, which one is the last

of these. In addition, they must indicate to the dancer which is the last phrase of the

group of four she is dancing to.

So, for the drummerE = E too. When the orchestra is playing a big sounding

introduction or middle of song kind of phrase, you play strong, your flourishes are

bigger and you are louder (but not overbearing). When it is the part of a soloist, youplay quieter and you play less in order to leave more room for the soloist. You are just

marking the rhythm for the soloist and the dancer while keeping it steady and precise.

What are the main parts in musical composition?

As we have seen, music is made of the above mentioned layers. But how are dance

compositions made? Or how are songs composed?

The introduction:

Most songs have an introduction, short or long as they may be. Same thing for a dancecomposition. Some songs have been arranged into dance arrangements, such as on my


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various albums, but in general they will all have an introduction. The introduction

may be repeated to create the effect of balanced sound and the second time around

may have a little difference to the first time it is played to not enter into monotony.

This will be followed by:

The 1st Verse :

This will be the first verse in the lyrics. (In Arabic music and songs the 1 st verse is

called the Math-Hab {the (Th) here is pronounced as you do in the word THE, not as

in THIEF}. In Egyptian Slang, it is known as MazHab, meaning the starting or the

opening) of the song, or if it is a dance composition, there will be the first change to

another part, which we can treat as verse.

What do we expect the music to be in a Mazhab? We expect another version of a Q &

A between a soloist and the orchestra. And we handle that the same as we do with the

MELODY section. This is because in a song, usually the singer sings part of the line

and the orchestra answers him to complete the number of bars into 1, 2 or 4 bars in asingle line of melody. So it is a Q & A style part after all.

Second Lazmah:

Do I really need to explain it again?

Another Mode:

After the 1st Verse the music may not go straight into the same Lazmah, it may go

straight into another Lazmah to create a different mode, like a change of rhythm or atotal change of colour like from a classical sound to a Saidi phrase, or another totally

different style. This depends on the composer.

Second Verse:

In a song, after the second Lazmah, then you will get the second verse, which is also

another Q & A, so treat it as such.

Then there might be another Lazmah followed by a verse and then a finale of the

song. Sometimes, in a dance composition, we will find another colour and a total

change of Mode, followed by another change Mode until you arrive at a break downof the music to introduce either a Baladi Taqasim or a Drum Solo then a finale that is

related to the first musical introduction... the possibilities are infinite.

In order to produce an excellent show, all members of the show must be in complete

agreement with each other on what is being presented to the audience. Each member

of the team must know his or her part and must execute it perfectly in order to create

the intended show. I can only by imagine what would happen if an acrobatic show had

a member who did not know what his / her part is supposed to be? .. the possibilities

are infinite.

This is when we get a drummer who is trying to play 100 beats within every bar of 4counts to impress the people with his speed and power. He is trying to cover up for his


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lack of knowledge of what music is about. And this is when we get the type of dancer

who is trying to do a 100 body pops and turns and acrobatic moves in order to cover

up her lack of knowledge of the basics of music and rhythm.

Both of you, drummer and dancer, all you have to do is translate the music in an E =

E fashion. That is all.

But you know?. An excellent performance is a GROUP EFFORT not a one-man

show, and both drummer and dancer must know what they are supposed to do. If you

drum or dance in a way that is meant to make you, and only you, look good, you will

end up looking like the ugliest duckling of the group. In my long experience as a

drummer and musician I found out that:

THE BEST DRUMMER IS THE LISTENNING DUMMER.

THE BEST DANCER IS THE LISTENING DANCER.

With Lots of Rhythm As Always

Hossam Ramzy

drumming for dancers-by hossam ramzy

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