Raqs Nerd: one thing bellydancers get wrong about baladi music 🪗

This Summer I am on a mission:

Namely, to seek out the finest Egyptian ashra baladi music known to humanity - and to make an absolutely top-tier playlist for my September baladi class series...

In this mission, I've been going beyond my trusty favourite dance CDs, and trying to hunt down more recordings by traditional Egyptian musicians - the OGs of baladi music.

I've found some absolute gems already - some new to me, and some lurking in my piles of mysteriously-labelled second-hand CDs, and while I've been listening, something struck me about how most dancers, and most bellydance teachers, understand baladi music...

It's not just accordion; it's not even just accordion + sax

If you've learned about ashra baladi music (AKA the "baladi progression" or "baladi taqsim"), there's a good chance you've heard that it is defined by certain instruments:

Usually, the accordion and tabla. Or, the saxophone and tabla.

And there's definitely a solid grain of truth in this, because both of these instruments are very characteristic of Egyptian baladi and sha'abi music in the mid-late 20th century.

But if you listen widely, you'll find that the basic musical structure of ashra baladi is actually played on all kinds of instruments - accordion, sax, and trumpet, yes... but also ney, violin, and more. And that it has counterparts in saiidi (upper Egyptian) folk music, played on saiidi traditional instruments like mizmar, arghoul, and rebaba...

Here's a ney version (with just a hint of electric bass guitar!)...

Here's a violin version, from one of Yasmina's dance albums...

And it's not just one instrument plus tabla, either!

A lot of the instrumental baladi music recorded for bellydancers in recent decades features just a couple of instruments: most often, the accordion + tabla combo I mentioned earlier. But sometimes sax + tabla - or very occasionally, violin + tabla, or ney + tabla.

But go back and listen to older recordings, and it's a totally different story...

Listen to baladi music from the 1970s - 1990s, and the music is most often played by a full ensemble of musicians - at least accordion AND sax alongside the percussion section, and sometimes including ney, trumpet, and more...

And this makes sense, because this improvisational format is something a band would include as part of their performance, not the whole thing - originally coming from bands who played at traditional wedding parties.

In older baladi recordings, you will hear several instruments, all in the same piece of music - weaving in and out, responding to each other, accenting each other's melodies, and taking turns to lead the melody or play taqasim.

And it makes for a very different experience, as a dancer.

When we get different instruments bringing their special sound qualities and playing styles to the music, everything is richer, more varied, more fun...

For example, check out the interplay between accordion and trumpet on this version of "Aament Billah"​

Or the change in feeling when the saxophone takes over from the accordion here​

Or this fabulous improvisation featuring solos from lots of instruments, following an ashra baladi kind of structure...

Or this absolutely wild vintage example with violin, synthesiser, accordion, and ney...

So if you were thinking ashra baladi music is just "a drummer and an old guy with an accordion" as I heard one workshop teacher memorably put it - it's time to put aside your expectations, and look at this improvisational music style with fresh eyes.

Even if you already love it - it might still find ways to surprise you!

And if you'd like to join me for a six week nerdy romp through the topic of ashra baladi, featuring music and musicality, culture and context, technique and body awareness, and inspiration from some of my favourite Egyptian dancers past and present - you can sign up for my September-October class series here 😊

With Love,

PS - there are now just 7 in-person places remaining for the Raqs Roots Intensive: Ishas el-Musiqa with Nisaa and Reda Henkesh! THE most in-depth workshops on traditional Egyptian-style musicality that you'll find anywhere, I think it is fair to say! And our early bird offer (with interest-free payment plan option) is available until the end of this month - find the full event information here​

PPS - every part of this newsletter is written by me, a flesh and blood human being, using my own thoughts, feelings, opinions, and writing style - now and always. This is a generative AI free zone 🚫🤖