Music Articles

Table of Contents

Music Theory & Structure

• Middle Eastern Music--An Introduction. By Shira. Musical styles, composers, instruments, artists, music theory.
• An Introduction for Dancers to Middle Eastern Music Rhythms. By Arabella. Rhythm fundamentals and diagrams of some widely-used rhythms.
• Why Is Arabic Music So Confusing? By Arabella.

Using Song Translations

• The Language of Dance. Why should dancers learn what the songs are about? By Shira.
• Why Is It Important to Know What The Lyrics Mean? By Lennie Clark. Added September 16, 2009.
• Introduction to Understanding Arabic Song Translations. By Osama el-Gohary. Added September 19, 2009.
• Translations to Lyrics for Near Eastern Songs. For over 150 songs originally recorded in Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Hebrew, and Greek.

The Songs We Dance To

• "There's a Place in France" - That "Snake Charmer" Song. By Shira. That funny little song that everyone thinks we use.
• Ya Mustapha! A Song Conquers the World. By Meissoun. Added October 19, 2009.
  

On Buying Music

• The Beginner's Guide to Finding Bellydance Music. By Arabella. Where to shop, what to look for.
• Not Only Books... You Can't Judge a Tape or CD By Its Cover! By Arabella. Music to avoid!
• Setrak: Song Titles from CD Covers. By Arabella. Mapping Setrak Sarkissian cassette tapes to CD's.