Zils, Drills & Thrills!

I was both delighted and dismayed about the focus on zils at the Belly Dancer of the Year competition. Delighted because, at times, I worry about zil-playing becoming a lost art and it made me happy that the judges placed such an emphasis on playing zils, and playing them well. Dismayed because my zil-playing has definitely weakened since dropping out of doing so many restaurant gigs and I got called out for it. As a dance baby of Zaphara’s - an instructor who wouldn’t let us dance in her class unless we had zils on our fingers - weak zil-playing is totally embarrassing. I’m working hard to remedy that situation!

Zils, or sometimes called/spelled “zills” or “sājāt” (صاجاتin Arabic) are a traditional instrument played by belly dancers while dancing.  If you would like to purchase your own professional zils, the most recommended brand is Saroyan https://www.saroyancymbals.com/store/. Saroyan zils come in a variety of sizes usually ranging in price from around $30-$50 for a set of 4.  If they are less expensive than that, I’d be suspicious of the quality. Zils are an instrument so it’s important to buy high quality zils – the sound will be superior and they’ll last forever.

I’m often asked which size of zils are the best. It really depends on what you are going to use them for. If you are primarily going to be playing zils in restaurants where you will be in close proximity to the patrons, I’d suggest going with a smaller, mellower set of zils so you don’t blast their ears out. For stage and festivals, larger, louder zils are great so the sound can reach the audience.

When you get your zils, you will need to sew the elastic so that you have a zil to fit each middle finger and a zil to fit each thumb. As an alternative, you can safety pin the elastic with one of those small, golden safety pins, but sewing with several stitches and securing the thread well will probably be more secure in the long run. Over time, sweat and oils will break down the elastic so you will need to tighten or replace the elastic from time to time.

You’ll also want to take good care of your zils and polish them from time to time. Keep them in their own protective bag, such a cloth drawstring bag, and make sure they are dry when you put them away. There’s a great article about caring for zils at middleasterndance.net.

Playing zils well while also dancing can be challenging at first, but over time and with plenty of practice it becomes second nature.  Common rhythms (with cute notations that I found recently on Wikipedia!): 

Triples: (R/L/R/pause – “giddyup, giddyup”)

Quads or “rolls”: (R/L/R/L/no pause)

Beledi: (RR RLR R RLR or dum/dum/tek-a-tek/dum-tek-a-tek)

Chiftatelli: (RR RLR RRR or dum/dum/tek-a-tek/dum/dum/dum – “John went to the sea; caught. three. fish.”)

Ayoub: (R RLR or dum/a-tek-tek – “buy more shoes, and…buy more shoes, and . . .,”)

Practice is certainly key. Once you get the hang of the basic rhythms, practice dancing and playing as much as possible, rather than sitting still. It’s important to create that body memory connection to zil-playing so that it becomes part of the dance, rather something separate to keep track of. It also helps to practice playing zils with music of varying complexity and tempo. Here is one the drills that we do in my intermediate/advanced classes:

Rhythms: 4 Triples + Beledi + 4 Triples + Quads
How it’s played: RLR RLR RLR RLR RR RLR R RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLRLRLRLRLRLR
Movements: 6 Egyptian basic, then during quads, one slow turn or two fast turns

Here’s a helpful resource for more information: http://www.shira.net/advice/learning/zills-intro.htm  I’d love to hear from you, too! Do you have favorite ways to practice zils? Any fun tricks and tips? Please feel free to leave comments here or contact me directly. Happy zilling!