Thread: Do you have any suggestions for ME sounding "secular" music?

If you want to go pop, you could try Shakira, except if you can't do ME sounding music that means no Ojos Asi (eyes like yours)... maybe one of her latin sounding pop songs.

Originally Posted by anala

See.. I am confused. Is the OP supposed to use non traditional music only, or is traditional music played in an unconventional way allowed? Or a well known disco song sung in another language...would that be ok?

It is to be anything non ME. I am trying to cheat by picking a secular or world music type song that sounds ME or has similar rhythms/melodies

Her reasoning for this is to make the student feel comfortable picking their favorite song so they feel more comfortable with the bellydance and dancing bd to a fave tune rather than get too hung up on the ME music (this is where I part ways here, I mean hello, this is why I LIKE bd. You woudn't want to polka to the band TOOL. It's probably possible but why WOULD you?)

I don't see why we can't just have an option to pick either ME or non ME, but it's not my hafla

[quote=yameyameyame;615967]Non Middle Eastern doesn't have to mean Western pop music!
There's a lot of music out there in the world that would fit belly dancing a lot better than Western pop music, although never as well as the Arabic music that belly dance evolved to compliment.



For me personally, the logical thing to do if I had to dance to non-ME music would be to dance to metal. There's so much variety within metal that you could probably find something you can belly dance to that won't be too harsh on most people's ears. There is metal that takes from classical music, Celtic music, Nordic folk music, even Middle Eastern music. Although I suspect this would be cheating, you could use this song by Orphaned Land QUOTE]

Yes, like this sort of sound, only more playful, not so heavy metal

Originally Posted by anala

Dum Dum, DaDa Dum. Cut it to 3-4 minutes.
Anala, how the heck can you dance to Zep's Kasmir? There's not much melody (except for the bridge) just the driving drum. All I can think is 'hip drop' hip drop.

Originally Posted by patrisha

Oh yeah, check out Raquy and the Cavemen... awesome sounds!

I love Raquy and the Cavemen, but aren't they ME?

I am playing around with my favorite band (the Doors) so what about:People are strange by the Doors

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awi14wDTxNw]YouTube - the doors people are strange[/ame]


or Loreena Mckinnit: Marrakesh Night Market

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXtrqHrHcI8]YouTube - Loreena McKennitt- Marrakesh Night Market[/ame]


Or a song I love by Eddie Vedder and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (but it's melancholy)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b33vOZKcS0]YouTube - Nusrat fateh ali Khan & Eddie Vedder - The Long Road[/ame]

Originally Posted by raqFariha

the string quartet "bond" has some nice stuff

Yes, that's getting there.... Look what I found:(Anala, with you in mind,r:;)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiTlYJfr6DA&feature=related]YouTube - Bond - Kashmir[/ame]

Perfect...drums, down below and steady, the driving violins building urgency in the middle, the soaring violin on top building emotion and the resolve of the full orchestra...perfect! Can you shorten it a tad from 5 minutes? The cycle repeats at about 3:48. Perfect!

I like the other 2 very much, but not enough energy or changes for my taste.

This one by Bond could also work - not really super ME sounding, but it has a "world music" feel to it that I like.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hqIKWNX30A]YouTube - Bond - Quixote[/ame]

That's pretty good to, thanks Laura

Originally Posted by HOOKEDNOVICE

Her reasoning for this is to make the student feel comfortable picking their favorite song so they feel more comfortable with the bellydance and dancing bd to a fave tune rather than get too hung up on the ME music (this is where I part ways here, I mean hello, this is why I LIKE bd. You woudn't want to polka to the band TOOL. It's probably possible but why WOULD you?)

I'm with you - and more to the point sounds like your teacher doesn't know the difference between "belly dance" and "belly dance movement vocabulary". You can certainly use the movement vocab with any music - but I doubt if the result is actually belly dance. At least not often.

Originally Posted by HOOKEDNOVICE

It is to be anything non ME. I am trying to cheat by picking a secular or world music type song that sounds ME or has similar rhythms/melodies

Her reasoning for this is to make the student feel comfortable picking their favorite song so they feel more comfortable with the bellydance and dancing bd to a fave tune rather than get too hung up on the ME music (this is where I part ways here, I mean hello, this is why I LIKE bd. You woudn't want to polka to the band TOOL. It's probably possible but why WOULD you?)

I don't see why we can't just have an option to pick either ME or non ME, but it's not my hafla

<above emphasis mine>


Whaaaaaat????



I know that you don't enjoy this type of thing.

Personally, I wouldn't participate if I wasn't allowed to BD to BD music at a BD hafla.

*shrug*

I'm such a rebel . . .

*returning now to the primary topic*

Deborah

I wish I had more students like you, Hooked. An appreciation for ME music is a terrible thing to waste.

Then there is always pseudo-Oriental cheese, like the jazz standard "Caravan" - it's cool and there are zillions of versions out there - or stuff like my personal fave of the moment, Ron Goodwin's "Windows of the East". It is sekritly ME but not really, in this incarnation - yet it's perfect to bellydance to.

YouTube - ron goodwin windows of the east

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Then there is always pseudo-Oriental cheese, like the jazz standard "Caravan" - it's cool and there are zillions of versions out there.

Ah, yes. My mom has a good friend who has been running a "luau" style show for decades and, in years past, would sometimes hire my mom the bder to be the "little extra" in the program; the band often played this for her. She looooooooooooves it! She loves aaaallll that cheesy music!

Deborah

I'd go for funk or blues music with a good guitar, sax or accordion solo. Good luck & have fun!

Originally Posted by Afrit09

I'm with you - and more to the point sounds like your teacher doesn't know the difference between "belly dance" and "belly dance movement vocabulary". You can certainly use the movement vocab with any music - but I doubt if the result is actually belly dance. At least not often.

I don't want to give the wrong impression about my instructor. She has been dancing for 30 years and is well educated in many styles, rhythms, and music. I am priviliged to have her as my teacher. I don't want to make her out to be one who doesn't know her stuff, I hope that's not the impression I gave a few posts back, I was just venting my frustration at her hafla choice. I do wish she would do other haflas besides the alternative, I mean, surely there are other students who share my opinion. But she's got lots of experience in ME dance and instructing and I really enjoy her classes. Her biggest hope for us students is that we love the dance and want to express who we are through it, hence the ME music/stumblig block theory.

Sorry if I inadvertently led anyone to believe otherwise

Originally Posted by anala

I wish I had more students like you, Hooked. An appreciation for ME music is a terrible thing to waste.

Thanks Anala, you may be suprised to know there are about half of the students in my advanced solo class who don't like ME music and are always voting for some Arabic pop cheesy piece everytime we vote on the next song (yes, I like some Arabic pop, just not as well as the classical ME stuff)

Originally Posted by HOOKEDNOVICE

Yes, that's getting there.... Look what I found:(Anala, with you in mind,r:;)

Oh, I"ve thought about using Bond before too, they have a few on the Shine CD I really like.

I would think that Raquy and the CM are more world music maybe? They use ME instruments but it definatley has a western base with ME influences.

Oh, and your post that lets us know how long your teacher has been dancing may say alot about why she uses other than ME music for certain haflas. Maybe she is just plain bored with the ME music from time to time and wants to shake it up a bit (no pun intended) I know I can only hear the same ME selections so long before I start to look for something else.

Originally Posted by HOOKEDNOVICE

I don't want to give the wrong impression about my instructor. She has been dancing for 30 years and is well educated in many styles, rhythms, and music. I am priviliged to have her as my teacher. I don't want to make her out to be one who doesn't know her stuff, I hope that's not the impression I gave a few posts back, I was just venting my frustration at her hafla choice. I do wish she would do other haflas besides the alternative, I mean, surely there are other students who share my opinion. But she's got lots of experience in ME dance and instructing and I really enjoy her classes. Her biggest hope for us students is that we love the dance and want to express who we are through it, hence the ME music/stumblig block theory.

Your teacher may be very qualified, and she may be a lovely dancer, but it is still an unexpected methodology. As steffib pointed out upthread, this would be fine for a classroom exercise, but it's rather controversial as a performance strategy, especially since this doesn't sound like an isolated, once-a-year, Halloween Hafla thing. As someone outside the situation, it's hard not to question why a teacher would feel this is a good idea, because it leads one to the possibility that something is or isn't happening in the classroom that is preventing the logical progression--namely that students would be developing a primary desire to perform the dance to its native music.

I certainly understand the idea that students can have a tough time getting into ME music, and it might be a perfectly good strategy to suggest that students who are having trouble making the jump from "mechanical exercise" to "sensuous movement" get their groove on to Al Green or something when they're practicing, but to encourage them to perform to "Let's Stay Together" is nonstandard, at best.

Yes Tourbeau,better said than my ramblings. I am seeing her tomorrow to dig through her music library and I hope we can talk more about it so I can gain a better insight.

Hopefully I'll have a winner (song choice by tomorrow, will let you all know. Thanks for all the input)

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

You know, I can see a teacher telling everybody that the hafla theme is going to require everybody to dance to a classic by the Big Four, or that everybody has to dance to ME pop songs, but to tell students that they must pick something intentionally inappropriate? Sigh. I suppose your teacher would consider it cheating to use ME covers of Western songs or Arabic rap, so the next logical guess is Western dance music--80's new wave, 70's disco and funk, 60's go-go music, and so on. If you really want to be "alternative," pick something completely insane from much earlier. Okay, here you go...I dare you to dance to this:

Amazon.com: Three Little Fishes: Kay Kyser And His Orchestra: MP3 Downloads

Yeah. Get out there and show those slackers that Gwen Stefani is for amateurs. Hardcore alternative belly dancing rises to the challenge of Ish Kabibble!

Awwww, the possibilities!..l;,..l;,..l;,

Oh Loreena McKennitt!!!!! She's a celtic Canadian artist who has explored the Silk Road roots of celtic music and its ME influence. I had to dance to Xmas music for an event this year and used her gorgeous God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Check out these tracks: Marco Polo, Kecharitomene, Santiago, Caravanserai. I think they're all on Itunes and can be downloaded from Amazon.

Here ya go- I defy you not to move to this..LOL!! The clip even has a dancer in it.... La Caution - The a La Menthe other wise known as the Laser Dance from Oceans 12..

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crrKWEVetUM&feature=related]YouTube - La Caution - Thé Ã* la menthe[/ame]


There are versions on You-Tube without all the French speak / sing/ rap whatever.

better version- just the music.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyzLHFkdv6E&feature=related]YouTube - oceans twelve laser dance[/ame]

A teacher I had used a song called "The Foolish Man Who Has No Home" by Ego Likeness for an alternative hafla, because the drumming rhythm was Middle Eastern.

Here's a YouTube video featuring Arabic songs Timbaland sampled and put into music he produced. I'm going to guess that there are other artists who have sampled Arabic songs and put them into their music, but this should be a good starting point.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpisW9gwbqo]YouTube - Timbaland Steals Arabic music[/ame]

Originally Posted by HOOKEDNOVICE

It is to be anything non ME. I am trying to cheat by picking a secular or world music type song that sounds ME or has similar rhythms/melodies

Her reasoning for this is to make the student feel comfortable picking their favorite song so they feel more comfortable with the bellydance and dancing bd to a fave tune rather than get too hung up on the ME music (this is where I part ways here, I mean hello, this is why I LIKE bd. You woudn't want to polka to the band TOOL. It's probably possible but why WOULD you?)

I don't see why we can't just have an option to pick either ME or non ME, but it's not my hafla

Well Heavy Metal uses Arabic scales but I wouldn't use it unless you do a Gothic Tribal peice.

I hear somewhere Dick Dale is half Lebanese. My undertanding is Misirlou is Turkish. I know the Middle East Music Ensemble plays it the traditional way.

I've see a troupe dance to buttons by the pussy cat dolls because the violin section I think is Arabic style.

U2's mysterious ways is another option. The only thing ME about it is the tablah riff right at the end and the fact there is a belly dancer in the film clip.

Speaking of which you can use Akon's Bellydancer song. The ME rhythm you hear is Khaligi I think.

My undertanding is Misirlou is Turkish.

Except for when it's Greek. It's probably Armenian as well. But the name refers to Egypt - Misir/Msr/Masr....

Originally Posted by patrisha

Oh, and your post that lets us know how long your teacher has been dancing may say alot about why she uses other than ME music for certain haflas. Maybe she is just plain bored with the ME music from time to time and wants to shake it up a bit (no pun intended) I know I can only hear the same ME selections so long before I start to look for something else.

There is such a huge range of ME music! Yes, there's the Orientale from Egypt - huge complex orchestrated pieces, old style beledi, newer improvised beledi, the beledi progressions, Arabic pop, Turkish Rom and Arabesque music, then all the folk styles, then you get into all that AmCab stuff with the touches of Armenian and Greek ... in 20 years I am still finding new ME music and I never have enough time to listen to it all.

You may want to check the 80's band - the Police. The drummer, Stewart , is Miles Copeland's brother and they both grew up in the Middle East. Well, Stewart uses Middle Eastern rhythms, like Saidi in many of their songs.

Wrapped Around Your Finger would make a cool fan veil routine...

Brothers of the Beladi do "Paint it Black" on their Eye on the World CD ( I think). I find it a good veil piece.