• Articles About Middle Eastern Music
• Song Translations & More (separate page)
• Reviews
  • CD's Featuring Songs from the Middle East
  • CD's Featuring Fusion and Alternative Music
  • Reviews of Music-Related Books
  • Reviews of Music-Related Videos

• Recent Changes To This Page

• Important Notice!

• Middle Eastern Music--A Very Brief Introduction. A very brief introduction to Middle Eastern music. Includes photographs of traditional instruments, an explanation of musical structure, and audio clips of some songs.
• An Introduction for Dancers to Middle Eastern Music Rhythms. By Arabella. Explains fundamentals of rhythm and diagrams some widely-used rhythms.
• The Language of Dance. Why it's important to know what songs are about when dancing to them.
• Introduction To Finger Cymbals. How to buy finger cymbals, muffle them for practice, make a drawstring bag for storing and transporting them, and learn to play them.
• The Beginner's Guide to Finding Bellydance Music. By Arabella. Suggestions on where to shop and what to look for.

Return To The Table Of Contents.

• Not Only Books... You Can't Judge a Tape or CD By Its Cover! By Arabella. Advice on music to avoid!
• Why Is Arabic Music So Confusing? By Arabella. Even if you have some knowledge about it!
• Setrak: Song Titles from CD Covers. Help in determining which CD's by Setrak Sarkissian have the same music as corresponding tapes so you can avoid duplication in your music collection.

• Middle Eastern Music: Translated Song Lyrics. Translations to more than 90 songs, sung in Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, and Armenian.

Return To The Table Of Contents.

All of the music reviews in this section focus on the music's suitability for use by dancers. Of course, this music can also be enjoyed just for listening, but the reviews are based on how well each album meets a dancer's needs. Read Shira's Music Reviews: Format & Biases before reading any of Shira's music reviews so you can better understand the format she has chosen for her reviews and acquaint yourself with her biases that may affect the content of her reviews.

Mary Ellen Donald and Mimi Spencer: Gems Of The Middle East. This review covers a series of 3 CD's (each sold individually) featuring mostly Arabic songs. Brothers Of The Baladi: Eye On The World. This CD offers a sample of songs from a number of Middle Eastern countries. Sirocco: Volume 1. One of the first albums of Middle Eastern music suitable for American tribal style, and still one of the most popular. Dance with Adam Basma Middle Eastern Dance Company. Upbeat Arabic songs played on electronic instruments. The "Magic" of John Bilezikjian. Traditional Turkish and Arabic songs played on the oud. Helm: F'il Waha. Traditional songs and original compositions in the ethnic style played on traditional instruments. Megastars Of The Arabic Song: Halim - Farid. This collection turns music by the great composers Abdel Halim Hafez and Farid Al-Atrache into elevator music.

• Troupe Americanistan: Live At The WOW. Features an ensemble from Eugene, Oregon (U.S.) playing mostly original compositions in the Middle Eastern style.
• Solace: The Gathering Season. Original compositions based on Middle Eastern rhythms, with moody, mysterious flavor.
• Brian Keane and Omar Faruk Tekbilek: Fire Dance. Mostly original compositions based on Middle Eastern structures with some traditional songs.
• Desert Wind: Kali Ma. Mostly original compositions played in a New Age style with underlying Middle Eastern drum rhythms.
• Light Rain: Dark Fire. Entirely original compositions by Doug Adams based on underlying Middle Eastern rhythms.

• The Gems Songbook. Review of a book by Mimi Spencer which contains sheet music, lyrics, and English translations for 11 songs from the eastern Mediterranean.
• Gems Instrumental Pieces. By Mimi Spencer. Sheet music for 23 Arabic songs.
• Gems of the Middle East, Volumes 1, 2, and 3: A Rhythmical Analysis. By Mary Ellen Donald. A series of 3 books which recommend rhythms to play on doumbec, tambourine, and finger cymbals to accompany popular Middle Eastern songs.
• Arabic Music & Songbook: A Collection of Arabic Traditional Songs, Folk Songs, & Instrumental Compositions. By Joseph Fakhouri. Sheet music for over 80 Arabic songs.
• Mastering Finger Cymbals. By Mary Ellen Donald. A highly skilled percussionist explains in plain language how to master a variety of Middle Eastern rhythms on the finger cymbals.
• The Golden Translator, Volumes 1, 2, and 3. By George Moawad. A series of 3 books, each containing English translations for about 8-10 popular Arabic songs.

Return To The Table Of Contents.

Full-Length Reviews

• Bellydance Live, Part 1 - Introduction to Music & Rhythms. Review of a video by Keti Sharif that provides an introduction to Middle Eastern musical instruments and rhythms.
• Basic Rhythms for Arabic Drum, Volume 1 (Revised Edition). Review of a video by Mafufo that provides instruction on playing the darabukka/tabla.

Opinion Polls Only

• Music of the Middle East. By the department of ethnomusicology at State University of New York in Binghampton. Placed online March 21, 2004.

Return To The Table Of Contents.

Of course, you may view or print pages from this site for your own personal use. And you're welcome to link to this site without asking me first.

If courtesy and respect for my generosity in sharing all of this are not enough to get you to honor my wishes, please also remember that the law is on my side. All articles and artwork appearing on this web site are protected by copyright law.

I truly regret the need to say all of this, but I've been driven to it by people who stole things from my site. If this theft continues, it could drive me to remove this site from the web. So please be an honorable member of the Internet community, and cooperate with my requests.

• On January 23, 2004, added Arabella's article, Not Only Books... You Can't Judge a Tape or CD By Its Cover! and Setrak Song Titles from CD Covers.
• On December 29, 2003, added Arabella's article, Beginner's Guide to Finding Belly Dance Music.
• On December 18, 2003, added Arabella's article, Why Is Middle Eastern Music so Confusing?

Return To The Table Of Contents.

General: | Home | Shira's Classes | E-Mail Shira | About Shira | Shira's Photo Gallery | Shira's Performances | Troupe | Mailing List |

Belly Dancing Information & How-To's: | About Belly Dancing | How-To's | Middle Eastern Culture | Belly Dancing Fun & Frolic | Belly Dancing Poetry & Art | Reviews: Books, Music, Videos | Find Belly Dancing Teachers/Performers | Tech Talk | Links |

Shopping: | Mugs, Shirts, Mouse Pads | Videos | Toys | Books | Music |

Using This Site: | Table Of Contents (Site Map) | Search This Site | Survey | Behind The Screens |