- Zill
Zills, also zils or finger cymbals, (from Turkish "zil", "cymbals" [The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - [http://www.bartleby.com/61/57/Z0015700.html "zill"] ] ) are tiny metallic
cymbal s used in belly dancing and similar performances. [Dictionary.com - [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/zill "definition of zill"] ] They are called "sāgāt" (صاجات) or "zagat" in Arabic. They are similar toTibetan tingsha bells .Features
Zills commonly have a diameter of about 5 cm (2 in). Accomplished dancers will often have a second — slightly larger — set for use in noisy situations. A set of zills consists of four cymbals, two for each hand.
Makers of zills commonly use
brass rather than the bronze used for larger cymbals, but they may also employ many other alloys. They may plate some zills in order to give a silvery colour or a brighter surface. Dancers speak of "silver tone" and "gold tone", and may have several sets with different tones for different dances, or of different colours to match different costumes.Modern dancers use elastic to secure the zills, one to the thumb and one to the middle finger of each hand. A hole or two slots allow the threading of the elastic through the zill. Performers use a variety of ways to cause the zills to ring, resulting in a wide range of sounds that the instruments can produce.
Zills belong to the standard instruments used in
Ottoman military band s and also occasionally appear as part of Westernorchestra l or other musical performances. In these cases musicians usually just call them "finger cymbals" and use them to obtain a ringing sound with "Middle East ern" associations. Percussionists playing finger cymbals sometimes use a less complicated technique than the traditional one used by dancers. The musician holds one cymbal in each hand by gripping the strap between the thumb and the index finger, and plays them by striking the rims together. They use this technique for occasional flourishes in the music rather than for complex rhythms and sounds.ee also
*
Music of Turkey Notes
References
* Foreman, Kelly Marie. "Zills, the Idiophone of the Middle Eastern Belly Dancer: Their History, Pedagogy, Techniques of Playing, and Role in the Context of Bodily Expression" (1994). M.A. thesis. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University.
External links
* [http://www.babelaudio.net/free.php Babel Audio has zill sound samples for download]
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