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PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.
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Music Articles
Table of Contents
Music Theory, Styles, & Structure
- Middle
Eastern Music — An Introduction. By Shira. Musical styles, composers, instruments, artists, music theory.
- Genres of Middle Eastern Music Used in Belly Dancing. Introduction to the Middle Eastern musical styles most frequently used for belly dance.
- Egyptian Shaabi Music and Song. By Dr. Hisham el-Agamy. Insight into traditional shaabi forms of Egyptian music, and how the latter half of the 20th century brought change.
- 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.
- Dr. George Sawa's Series of Tarab Articles:
- The Ecstasy of Tarab. Sahra Kent offers thoughts on tarab, the ecstatic state that can sometimes be achieved through Arab music.
- Al-Fārābī's Classification of Musical Instruments. Tenth-century ideas on which musical instruments are superior to others, as described in the medieval Grand Book of Music by Al-Fārābī. Translated by Dr. George Dmitri Sawa.
- Mejance: the Egyptian-Style Raqs Sharqi Entrance Music. By Shira. History of this Egyptian musical style, structure of it, and using it in a raqs sharqi show.
- Introduction to Greek Laiko / Rebetiko Music. History of 20th century Greek folk music and its place in society.
- Musical Traditions of Pontus, the Black Sea Region of Present-Day Turkey. By Panayiota Bakis Moheiddin. Traditional instruments.
PHOTO CREDIT: The musician in the foreground is Moussa Kenawi, playing a rebaba. The band are the Musicians of the Nile. Photo by Shira, taken in Egypt. |
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Song Translations
Using Song Translations
PHOTO CREDIT: These members of Musicians of the Nile are playing mizmars. Photo by Shira, taken in Egypt.
Translations for Songs
There are over 500 translations on this web site for songs from throughout the Middle East. Here's where to find them:
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The Songs We Listen and Dance To
The Story Behind the Song
From the Arab World
From the Greeks
- Introduction to Greek Laiko / Rebetiko Music. History of 20th century Greek folk music and its place in society.
 Apo Xeno Topo, Kâtibim, and Üsküdara Giderik'en. This fascinating song whose origins are lost to history is celebrated around the world. Placed online November 9, 2020.- Den Xanakano Filaki O Kapetanakis: The Story Behind the Song. Explains some of the cultural references made in the lyrics.
- Ikariotikos. The story of the song and its dance. Placed online September 7, 2020.
- Mastika: The Story Behind the Song. About the popular 9/8 song.
- Misirlou: The Story Behind the Song. All about the Greek song and its worldwide popularity.
- Never on Sunday: The Movie and Its Hit Song. The musicians, the dancers, and the party at Cannes.
- Songs with Lyrics in Multiple Languages: Greek, Arabic, Turkish. Record companies often operate in more than one country, and release a given song in multiple markets, changing the lyrics to local languages.
- Choosing Greek Songs for Dancing. Are you looking for a song in a particular dance style, such as the Greek line dance hasapiko or maybe belly dancing? This list can help!
- Using Greek Patriotic Music in Your Belly Dance Show. When it's appropriate, and which songs to consider.
Other Song Information
PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Kaylyn Hoskins, Solon, Iowa.
Lists of Recordings
These lists of made-for-belly-dance recordings feature various songs and instrumental solos: Looking for recordings of your favorite song to find one suitable for your upcoming show? These lists might help!
More Music Information
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About the Musicians
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ABOUT THE PHOTO: This photo shows a row of ouds being sold in a shop on Mohamed Ali Street in Cairo. Photo by Shira, taken in Egypt. |
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On Buying Music
Copyright Notice
This entire web site is copyrighted. All rights reserved.
All articles, images, forms, scripts, directories, and product reviews on this web site are the property of Shira unless a different author/artist is identified. Material from this web site may not be posted on any other web site unless permission is first obtained from Shira.
Academic papers for school purposes may use information from this site only if the paper properly identifies the original article on Shira.net using appropriate citations (footnotes, end notes, etc.) and bibliography. Consult your instructor for instructions on how to do this.
If you wish to translate articles from Shira.net into a language other than English, Shira will be happy to post your translation here on Shira.net along with a note identifying you as the translator. This could include your photo and biography if you want it to. Contact Shira for more information. You may not post translations of Shira's articles on anybody else's web site, not even your own.
If you are a teacher, performer, or student of Middle Eastern dance, you may link directly to any page on this web site from either your blog or your own web site without first obtaining Shira's permission. Click here for link buttons and other information on how to link.
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