Thread: Zill Speak by Artemis Mourat

It is finished! It has a release date (including booklet) of the 21st of September. It should be up on Amazon for pre-order in the next week and up on CD Baby the middle of September.
Here is some info:

Zill Speak - How to Play Finger Cymbals from A(lmee) to Z(ills)
Time: 72 minutes

Track List

1. Zill Solo
2. Understanding Music Theory
3. 4 Useful Sounds
4. Zill Patterns and Rhythms
5. The 4 Ways to Play
6. Arabic Rhythms
7. Non-Arabic Rhythms
8. Romany 9/8
9. Karsilama
10. Ah Ya Zein - Zills versus Sagat
11. Turkish Spoons
12. Drills for Sounds
13. Drills for Patterns
14. Drill in 6/8
15. Zill solo with Words
16. Click Track - Slow
17. Click Track - Medium
18. Click Track – Fast

Synopsis

This is Part 1 of a two part series called Cymbals Speak. Here Artemis breaks down, with simple terms and ideas, how to play finger cymbals. She covers music theory, the different sounds made by 2 slotted finger cymbals, how to wear them, when to play them, the recent history of finger cymbals and the rhythms of both Arabic and non-Arabic music. She also breaks down how to combine these rhythms into a fun zill solo. Part 2, Sagat Speak, covers how to play one holed Egyptian sagat, the clam-shell grip and the ancient history of hand held percussive instruments.

WOW! did not know of this!
given it is released on CD baby and this title "speak" - is it an audio only?

Originally Posted by dinavienna

WOW! did not know of this!
given it is released on CD baby and this title "speak" - is it an audio only?

They are both cds, not dvds--I can't wait!!

Yippee!!!

Serpentine, you read my mind.....I was just thinking about this cd last week. It's been on the Serpentine website for so long as "soon to be released" that I had just about given up hope....and here it is.

Will it be available as mp3 download?

Cheers Rosemarie

This is great news. Now I won't be the only one in my area walking around saying "old macdonald had a farm, eieio... elevator, elevator, eieio."

Originally Posted by dinavienna

WOW! did not know of this!
given it is released on CD baby and this title "speak" - is it an audio only?

It is a CD with a booklet - I have not yet seen the booklet, but it is guaranteed to be great (given where it comes from).

cd sounds good. I often wondered if the visual stimulation did not take away from the concentration on the audio side of learning to play zils. I am a visual learner for many things - I think I do not concentrate on sound alone enough anyway. So I will be curious if taking away the visual dimension enables concentration on the sound alone.

Originally Posted by Rosemarie

Will it be available as mp3 download?
Cheers Rosemarie

Sorry, no, not this CD, nor Sagat Speak. An integral part of the package is the booklet that goes with each. You won't understand what's being taught without them. So I'm not encouraging downloads, i.e. making them legal. Pirating happens unfortunately. But without the written instruction, illustrations and pictures (the visuals for visual learners) it will be only half the learning experience.

We have been working on it since February, as the ads on the site have shown. It's been a loooong process. I am relieved to at least get the first one out.

EIEIO - Chugaluga, chugaluga, Birdie Wants a BEER!..g.:

No worries.....I want the WHOLE learning experience!

cheers Rosemarie

It's up on Amazon already. They were very quick this time.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Zill-Speak-Play-Finger-Cymbals/dp/B002LNWN8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250543900&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Zill Speak - How to Play Finger Cymbals from A(lmee) to Z(ills): Artemis Mourat: Music[/ame]

Wow, this sounds fantastic! I'm trying to improve my zill playing and this looks like a must-have ..g.:

Originally Posted by sharonfruit

Wow, this sounds fantastic! I'm trying to improve my zill playing and this looks like a must-have ..g.:

Given who it's coming from, I'd say YES! It's a "must-have". ..l;,

? i would say i'm definitely not a beginner zill -player.... i'm not exactly super-advanced either...
so i'm wondering if this would be for me? i need something fast paced, new and challenging!

Originally Posted by peacelove

? i would say i'm definitely not a beginner zill -player.... i'm not exactly super-advanced either...
so i'm wondering if this would be for me? i need something fast paced, new and refreshing!

Arty has used a new approach to help make all the rhythms stick in your brain. She has drills for the 4 sounds to be made with 2 slotted cymbals + a solo + a LOT of chiftiteli, karsilama and Romany 9. The instruction is fast paced, the booklet you can read at your leisure. Perhaps if you know all the basic Arabic rhythms by heart you might find it easy, but I think there is something here for everyone, no matter what your level.

Serpentine, I looked at your website and am tempted by quite a few things. Now before going to amazon for ordering the zils one, do you have offers for European buyers getting multiple products?
thanks!

As an European, I second dinavienna's question!

I third that question!

Originally Posted by mekyria

I third that question!

Certainly we try to make customers happy, but without knowing what you want to buy and where the shipping is going to, it is hard for me to give an answer. I have set up on CD Baby that anyone buying more than 1 of an item receives a 20% discount. I am able to make a similar offer for multi-item orders if you order from me direct, but I only take credit cards, no PayPal. Please send me an email and I will try to help. There is also a special price for those ordering sagat with the CDs, but since both Cymbal Speak CDs are not available yet, I have not begun to advertise the discounts. I assumed only those interested in Sagat Speak (not Zill Speak) would be interested in sagat discounts.

thanks! I'll have a look at the site and will then write to you directly :)

The CDs have arrived! Arty will have them this week-end for her New Jersey workshop and of course next week for Japan. I have shipped them off to Amazon and CD Baby so I imagine this time next week they will ship out to you. Thank you all for supporting this project.

How much is the Cd & booklet?

Originally Posted by carpediem

How much is the Cd & booklet?

$20.00, either on CD Baby or Amazon. I have also put up Sagat Speak on Amazon with a release date of 8 December. So far I am on target, but I need to keep my nose to the grindstone.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sagat-Speak-Egyptian-Finger-Cymbals/dp/B002P5APFS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253074845&sr=8-1#moreAboutThisProduct"]Amazon.com: Sagat Speak - Egyptian Finger Cymbals: Yasmin Henkesh: Music[/ame]
Thank you for your interest.

Yasmine, is sagat speak formatted for the new sagat/one hole sagat or is it for any cymbals? Also is sagat speak egypstan/arabic rythms and zill speak turkish, so would be getting both cds cover all rythms? and so would they compliment each other, or are the 2 very different things?

Just a quick first shout-out: I got Artie's CD, and love it! I will post a more insightful message once I have actually worked a bit more with it.

As for what is on it, Zill Speak includes a number of Turkish rhythms, plus the Arabic rhythms one should know for Vintage Oriental, plus 6s and a zeffa (which made me laugh out loud). Beyond that set, I'd say that seriously working with the CD will give one the skills to tackle others that are not covered.

Sounds great

Originally Posted by annwyn

Yasmine, is sagat speak formatted for the new sagat/one hole sagat or is it for any cymbals? Also is sagat speak egypstan/arabic rythms and zill speak turkish, so would be getting both cds cover all rythms? and so would they compliment each other, or are the 2 very different things?

I have tried to design Sagat Speak so that it will compliment Arty's CD and be useful even for people who do not want to learn one-holed finger cymbals. The technique of how to play sagat is in the booklet, but there is also a history lesson and a break down of the drills included on the CD - which covers 25 different rhythms, none of which are Turkish.

Arty's approach to the rhythms is to break them down into very basic components. Mine is more advanced (it's a 2 part set and I rely on what she teaches to cover the more intricate break down of complicated rhythms). I have included 1/2 hour of back beat rhythms to improvise to, plus the patterns most used by Egyptian sagat players, broken down in #s.

For example: 5-5-7-5, 3-3-7, 1-3, etc.
The rhythms included range from what Arty talked about to the obscure:
Malfouf, maqsoum fast + slow, Saidi, Nubi fast + slow, maghrabi 6/8, rumba, khaligi, samba, ayoub, ingara, masmoudi saughrayir + kabir, bayo, sinbati, samai, darig, shoubi, wahda, bambi, fox, dubki and adani.

There are also the ghawazee patterns from the 1798 Description de l'Egypte, a field recording of a sagat solo from Egypt and nursery rhyme drills to help with the pitch changes of sagat.

I understand sagat are not for everyone (they take a lot of work to learn) but what is on the CD should benefit anyone who enjoys finger cymbals.

Sorry, I forgot to mention the rhythms covered by Artemis on Zill Speak:
Ayoub
Beladi
Masmoudi kabir
Saidi
Maqsoum
6/8
Saudi
Malfouf
Zuffa
Ciftitelli
Rumba
9/8 Karsilama
9/8 Tulum
9/8 Romany
She breaks them down into dums, teks and kas, right/left + word phrases to help remember them. She's very thorough.

I can't wait to get both CDs!

I just went to Amazon to order this CD and it's out of stock! *sob*
I then went to the Serpentine website and I can't find a way to order it from there either.
Is there anywhere I can order it from? Or will Amazon re-stock it soon?