Instrument · Strings
Electric Guitar
جيتار كهربائي
An amplified fretted string instrument. In Arabic music its identity comes less from the instrument itself and more from ornamentation, phrasing and sometimes modified fretting.
United States; Arabic adaptation: Egypt
Origin
The electric guitar was developed in the United States during the 20th century. It entered Egyptian Arabic music prominently during the late 1960s, with musicians such as Omar Khorshid helping establish a distinctly Arabic guitar vocabulary.
Role in the dance
Electric guitar is one of the sounds that immediately evokes late Golden Era/post-Golden Era Egyptian orchestration and 1960s–1970s stage music. It can create dramatic melodic hooks that a dancer can accent almost like violin or accordion phrases.
Music
Rhythms it plays
Maqsum
4/4Probably the single most important rhythmic cycle for an oriental dancer. It appears in Egyptian popular music, classical compositions, baladi music, shaabi and modern Arabic pop, and frequently serves as the neutral rhythmic foundation to which other rhythms return. MaqamWorld describes it as the most widely used iqa‘ in Arabic music.
Baladi
4/4Heavy, grounded rhythm strongly associated with Egyptian baladi music and baladi progressions. The doubled opening dum creates a heavier feeling than Maqsum. “Baladi” is also a much broader cultural and musical term, while this specific rhythmic skeleton is more precisely called Masmoudi Saghir.
Malfuf
2/4A fast, rolling rhythm often heard at the beginning or end of an oriental routine. Excellent for travelling steps, entrances, exits, veil entrances and fast transitions. Its accent structure has a characteristic 3+3+2 feeling.
Wahda
4/4Spacious rhythm that leaves considerable room for melody, vocals and improvisation. Particularly important beneath sustained vocal phrases and expressive tarab passages. The name means “one,” referring to the prominent single dum anchoring the cycle.