Thread: Zill technique

Watching some performances at the weekend I was struck by the zill technique of some of the dancers (not literally obviously, I would be suing ..l;,)

I started learning zills on my own, with the help of DVDs, websites etc. When I play I strike the outside edge of one zill against the edge of the other, with a slight swipe sideways, so the glance and come apart, this gives me a pleasing ringing noise that I quite like. Occassionally if I want to emphasis a beat (usually on a Dum) I strike them flat on to each other, this makes a more clangy sound with a kind of "chomp" as the air tries to escape from the dents in the middle of the zills. If my hands are in an awkward place, or I want less sustain, I damp my top zill by laying my index and third finger on top of the zill. I can also strike them with the rim of one against the flat edge of the other, but tend not to because it messes with my grip/hand position, and doesn't sound much different to my usual technique.

The performers I saw at the weekend though were consistently using the full strike with the whole of one zill striking the whole of the other, but somehow this didn't seem to sound as clangy or chompy as it does when I do it (I would never play like that consistently as I find the sound too harsh).

What's that all about then? How do you folks strike your zills?

Azar taught me to hold them sort of perpendicular to each other.

So if I held my hand out so my palm was flat and facing the floor, the zill on the middle finger would also open to the floor, but my thumb zill would be turned a bit so the side of the zill would strike the middle finger zill.

We learned to clack the zills by sort of wrapping our other fingers around the top middle finger zill to dampen the ring.

I strike them directly on top of each other but quickly pull them apart (I teach my students to pretend that they are touching something hot). That gives the desired "ring" instead of the "clack" and prevents mishaps of zills getting "tangled" when they aren't hitting each other directly on.

I play a variety of ways. I do the straight hit and quick pull back, a straight hit to get a more clank sound and some times a more grazed it. It all depends on the sounds that you want. I have been told that all of these are correct technique depending on the effect that you are looking for.

Originally Posted by Kash13

When I play I strike the outside edge of one zill against the edge of the other, with a slight swipe sideways, so the glance and come apart, this gives me a pleasing ringing noise that I quite like.

I think this is what Lily Splane calls the "zing" in Zils on Fire.

Well, I haven't heard the zillers you describe, but from you say about your own technique, I'd MUCH rather listen to you playing your zills than the others playing theirs. You've got a solid base of different sounds that you use to enhance rather than cover up the music - yay for you! I teach the same sounds and how to use them in my zill class that I've taught recently at local workshops and at Ahlan Wa Sahlan for the last 3 years. Members of the local Arab ensemble with which I often play tell me they like my zill playing because it is based on a wide variety of sounds I've learned over the years and because I enhance the music rather than overpower it.

Originally Posted by Kash13

Watching some performances at the weekend I was struck by the zill technique of some of the dancers (not literally obviously, I would be suing ..l;,)

I started learning zills on my own, with the help of DVDs, websites etc. When I play I strike the outside edge of one zill against the edge of the other, with a slight swipe sideways, so the glance and come apart, this gives me a pleasing ringing noise that I quite like. Occassionally if I want to emphasis a beat (usually on a Dum) I strike them flat on to each other, this makes a more clangy sound with a kind of "chomp" as the air tries to escape from the dents in the middle of the zills. If my hands are in an awkward place, or I want less sustain, I damp my top zill by laying my index and third finger on top of the zill. I can also strike them with the rim of one against the flat edge of the other, but tend not to because it messes with my grip/hand position, and doesn't sound much different to my usual technique.

The performers I saw at the weekend though were consistently using the full strike with the whole of one zill striking the whole of the other, but somehow this didn't seem to sound as clangy or chompy as it does when I do it (I would never play like that consistently as I find the sound too harsh).

What's that all about then? How do you folks strike your zills?