Thread: zills for the first time...fun fun fun!

So last night I used zills for the first time...How fun :)

I have now ordered myself a lovely pair online and Im looking forward to annoying my hubby even more. Together with the jingle of my coin belt and now the zills there could be a divorce mwahahaha.

Only kidding my hubby actually encouraged me to buy some (he is a musician so when i said can i buy a pair of zills and explained what they was he was like "of course you can, here let me help you find some" woohoo)
Now when it comes to "can i buy a gorgeous fab costume" the answer is " we cant afford it no lol"

One of my teachers recommended getting baby socks to put over the zills to muffle the sound. I use them, but I'd much rather not. I also play outside ( we live in a fairly remote area ).

I love zills too but I've only had one teacher who enjoyed them. Fortunately, she taught me a lot.

There are some good videos out there you can use. I got Mesmera's--I think Ansuya may have one, too.

I second the baby socks idea, but I find that putting two socks over each zil keeps the socks from getting torn up three minutes in.

I make little "cossies" out of felt or polar fleece for mine when I want to practice without being too obnoxious...l;,

Fatinah, the Drills Drills Drills dvd has a good section on rhythm drills for zills. It's a good one. Glad you're having fun

You can also make little crocheted "mufflers" for them. There's a pattern on Shira's website.

Zills are the best -- although not all teachers seem to emphasize them these days, I think everyone needs to know how to play them to be a really complete dancer. What kind did you buy?

baby socks work great. i love zills. they are my absolute favorite thing! i'm glad you are enjoying them

Yes, I, too, enjoy zills but as stated earlier, not all teachers emphasize them these days. I am going to try and get my DVD's out to teach myself more of the zills this summer while classes are on hold.

I made mufflers for mine by cutting circles of felt a bit bigger than the zill and stitching a running stitch of shirring elastic around the edge, then pulling it tight, works a treat.

I love practicing w/ my zills too! ... hubby, however - not so much - and my dogs look at me like I've gone insane I have baby mittens I use to muffle them when I absolutely must, but as such a beginner, I find that I really need the practice hitting them just right to sound the way I want (especially with my arms and hands in different positions and moving as I'm dancing, etc) and when they're muffled I can't judge that well - I need the auditory feedback to know I'm getting it right ... but if it's the choice between not being able to practice with them at all or using the mufflers, it's better than nothing - at least I get to practice the rhythms.

haha awww glad im not alone then porti!

Originally Posted by JeanneLF

You can also make little crocheted "mufflers" for them. There's a pattern on Shira's website.

Zills are the best -- although not all teachers seem to emphasize them these days, I think everyone needs to know how to play them to be a really complete dancer. What kind did you buy?

I used that pattern and it turned out well. I misplaced them though and haven't gotten around to making some more yet.

I just started zilling too, even though I've been dancing since 2001! I finally had a "click" moment on my first rhythm, the beledi...and then happily went off to celebrate by zilling it loudly at my bf, who was showering at the time ;)

I'm not sure if any of the rest of you are having this experience, but it's really HARD to dance with the zils on, I feel like I'm just learning BD again. Right now my practice regimen is to zil through 2 songs straight just to ingrain the pattern, and then to dance/zil to at least one song, plus a run-through on a drill dvd if I also have time. My goals are to have beledi and maqsoum down by the end of the month, WITH actually fluid movements

and screw zil mufflers! this is payback time for my upstairs neighbor and their constant cello/bass playing and repetitious playing of one song over and over

muahaha

I just love sagat/zills-all my students have to put up with them.Just keep up the practising. its a pain but you won't regret it. Go for it .

Originally Posted by najla86

and screw zil mufflers! this is payback time for my upstairs neighbor and their constant cello/bass playing and repetitious playing of one song over and over

muahaha

Amen sister! The guy upstairs LOVES to watch his Sci-Fi/ Action moives with his surround sound on full blast so I just give him 15 minutes of zills and he quites down. Two can play at this game!

Just putting it out there that my zills annoy me. Not the sound, just the act of doing it. I am still trying to get moving and playing at the same time down, never mind doing it to music! Love the sound of them tho.

Originally Posted by Fatinah_bellydance

I have now ordered myself a lovely pair online

Hope you mean a quad

Wow! all the info. I am getting in just a matter of days from this board. Zill dvd's, how to's , websites. etc. My friend and I are taking turns logging in trying to post and read the threads. It sucks to share computer.