Belly Dance Drum Music - for teaching & practice
Tina & George have published two professional recordings, currently being used by dance & drum teachers and students throughout the world. Reviews are below.
Sweet Fruits for Heavenly Hips
(Music for Belly Dance Teaching, Dance & Drum Practice)
Information & Reviews
Next best thing to having a Live Drummer in class! Drumming for Belly Dance Class, Teaching / Instructing, including Increasing-tempo Practice Drills. Developed over 15 years by a belly dance teacher and drum teacher in their dance and drum classes.
The first of its kind... living, acoustic music for belly dance class and practice! Great for drum students to practice to!
Hand-played and recorded to the locks, bumps and shimmies of heavenly hips, this CD is designed for dance teachers, dance students, and drum students. It helps optimize the understanding of the moves and music, with the help of energizing percussion designed and arranged specifically for classroom drills and progressions. This CD is completely acoustic, hand-played on traditional instruments...NOT electronics, computers or machine-made loops!
Each Rhythm is clear played, dynamically layered & several of the pieces increase slightly in tempo so each student is engaged, and then challenged.
Perfect tempos set by the dancers and chosen for isolations, turns, undulations, walking shimmies, zill practice, layering, across the floor progressions, combinations, and more. As a finale, a medium-tempo drum solo designed for your own choreography, with repetitions in 2 and 4 times.
Utilizing traditional rhythms in a fresh way, specifically for getting students on time and with the music, this CD is unsurpassed for beginning and intermediate belly dance classes. Well over an hour in length, it can be played non-stop for class.
REVIEWS
What are Teachers & Saying about Sweet Fruits for Heavenly Hips?
I just wanted to let you know that I love this cd. I love the music and the way it is broken down into sections. I look forward to volume #2. Thanks, Vickie Bell
Exactly what I've been waiting for!
This is a wonderful CD! As a dancer, it's great to have a whole CD of material that is not only incredibly danceable but is also conveniently indexed by type of rhythm and tempo, making it easy to find exactly what I'm looking for. As a dance teacher, I am so excited to FINALLY have all of the rhythms I want for my classes in a single package and organized in the order I need them. Author: Laleh 'Aziz
The Sweet Fruits CD is really great especially for teachers to introduce dance students to new dance steps. There are a lot of rhythm CDs out there made by drummers, but this is the first one I've heard so far where you can tell just by listening to it that it was designed by a dance teacher. Most of the rhythms are played at several speeds so you can start out slow and stay at that speed for a reasonable amount of time (2-3 min), then progress to the next track with the same rhythm at a slightly faster pace once the students get the hang of the step, then even move on to a third speed on some of rhythms. You can also use the slower speeds to teach the rhythms to dancers or drummers. My students really love it & it's indispensable for my class! The notes are really handy too. Thanks Tina & George! - Zsuzsi, Mediterraneo Productions, Santa Cruz
I enjoy the heavenly hips cd very much. And use it often -thnx for all your work. Best wishes, Sharifa Asmar in NC
I use your CD often when I teach my classes in an effort to share with my students the possibilities of drumming and how it corresponds so greatly to our movement as artists. The rhythms and patterns available on the CD are a wonderful tool in breaking down complex techniques & belly dance movement, while at the same time allowing the listener to experience simple, pure, & authentic percussive sound. I enjoy teaching to the CD as much as I enjoy listening to it! This CD is excellent for the seasoned professional & new coming beginning dancer alike. Thank you to George and Tina for making an amazing CD! - Akasha Starr, Entertainer & Instructor, Orange County
*A great find--buy it!
This cd is an excellent tool for teaching as well as for practicing...just like it claims. The tracks aren't songs, per se, but that's the beauty of this CD. Middle Eastern music is often too complex for teaching beginners and this CD simplifies the music without losing any of the fun or sensuality inherent in Middle Eastern music.
Author: F. Watson
Truly instrumental
No singing, no vocal infusions -- that's what I wanted. That's what I got, a truly instrumental delight. I am teaching a group of seniors whose ages range through 80 and up and this album is perfect as background while I am talking and as music to use for teaching this beautiful style of dance. You should see those seniors shimmy!
Author: Loretta Jackson
Habebti, I wanted to inform you that I did finally receive the CD and I am truly amazed!!!! Congratulations ....
Thanks again, Uaneyia (of Athens, Greece)
I've been waiting for a CD like yours. I've been belly dancing for 33 years, teaching for 30 of those & no one has ever done this. – Meleea
Hi Tina! I ordered a cd from you and absolutley LOVE it! – Inara
It's a completely acoustic, percussion based CD that is designed with teachers in mind by a teacher, for use in drilling and classroom practice. There are also some cuts that could be used for performance, including a drum solo. The students who experienced it really liked it! I plan to integrate it further into my classes.
It has a very earthy, bare yet rich sound, very traditional - i.e. no synthesizers or modern instrumentation. There are a couple of cuts with melody (oud) but it's mostly pure percussion - a lot of combining of things like dumbek, djembe and zills. It includes a good variety rhythms, which is always helpful for teachers. I believe the playing time is pretty long too.
This is a CD that gives a feeling of having a live drummer drumming for your class, so if that appeals to you, I highly recommend it! I personally really like to give my students the experience of dancing to live "raw" Arabic music, and since it's pretty hard to afford to pay drummers to come to every class, this type of CD is the next best thing.
- Lilla Varese, Instructor, Performer
What are Dance & Drum Students saying about Sweet Fruits for Heavenly Hips?
Excellent CD!
It is so important to understand the rhythms of Arabic dance. More often than not we hear the most common rhythms but not the others. This CD not only has many different rhythms but multiple styles/tempos of each rhythm. This CD is ideal for a class setting or even just practicing on your own. It's perfect because it stays consistent with the rhythm throughout i.e. if you're teaching movement to rhythm then all of a sudden it changes and you have to change the CD or restart the music.
It has warm up music then slow rhythms that move into fast. The music on the CD forces me to isolate my movements. The drum solo at the end is AWESOME! It will stop you in your tracks! By Melani Smartt
The Real Thing
Excellent CD. As a beginner drummer and an intermediate dancer I thought this cd was great. The drumming was innovative, authentic and soulful. I particularly like the way each song builds on the previous - drumming techniques started simple and George manages to integrate advance drumming with basic so its playable. As a dancer the CD does the same thing. Simple moves built upon each other to give each song levels and depth - great for layering! George and Tina you pulled of a great CD - can't wait for the next one or maybe even an instructional DVD. I give it a hearty zargoota and 2 thumbs up!! By M. Brierly
I love the drum CD, it is great, and easy to practice to. LOL, it also makes a great meditation CD! Thank you for making them available to us. - Shelby (of Santa Cruz)
This is not only an excellent CD but a great learning and teaching tool both for the drummers and the dancers. It's really good. Author: Mary Jane Aguilar
The CD tracks sound great! Mabruk! Congratulations. - Carolyn Mahfouz of Bellydancestore.com
Your new belly dance music CD is fantastic! Congratulations to both you and Tina...Litani
(Music for Belly Dance Teaching, Dance & Drum Practice)
Information & Reviews
Next best thing to having a Live Drummer in class! Drumming for Belly Dance Class, Teaching / Instructing, including Increasing-tempo Practice Drills. Developed over 15 years by a belly dance teacher and drum teacher in their dance and drum classes.
The first of its kind... living, acoustic music for belly dance class and practice! Great for drum students to practice to!
Hand-played and recorded to the locks, bumps and shimmies of heavenly hips, this CD is designed for dance teachers, dance students, and drum students. It helps optimize the understanding of the moves and music, with the help of energizing percussion designed and arranged specifically for classroom drills and progressions. This CD is completely acoustic, hand-played on traditional instruments...NOT electronics, computers or machine-made loops!
Each Rhythm is clear played, dynamically layered & several of the pieces increase slightly in tempo so each student is engaged, and then challenged.
Perfect tempos set by the dancers and chosen for isolations, turns, undulations, walking shimmies, zill practice, layering, across the floor progressions, combinations, and more. As a finale, a medium-tempo drum solo designed for your own choreography, with repetitions in 2 and 4 times.
Utilizing traditional rhythms in a fresh way, specifically for getting students on time and with the music, this CD is unsurpassed for beginning and intermediate belly dance classes. Well over an hour in length, it can be played non-stop for class.
REVIEWS
What are Teachers & Saying about Sweet Fruits for Heavenly Hips?
I just wanted to let you know that I love this cd. I love the music and the way it is broken down into sections. I look forward to volume #2. Thanks, Vickie Bell
Exactly what I've been waiting for!
This is a wonderful CD! As a dancer, it's great to have a whole CD of material that is not only incredibly danceable but is also conveniently indexed by type of rhythm and tempo, making it easy to find exactly what I'm looking for. As a dance teacher, I am so excited to FINALLY have all of the rhythms I want for my classes in a single package and organized in the order I need them. Author: Laleh 'Aziz
The Sweet Fruits CD is really great especially for teachers to introduce dance students to new dance steps. There are a lot of rhythm CDs out there made by drummers, but this is the first one I've heard so far where you can tell just by listening to it that it was designed by a dance teacher. Most of the rhythms are played at several speeds so you can start out slow and stay at that speed for a reasonable amount of time (2-3 min), then progress to the next track with the same rhythm at a slightly faster pace once the students get the hang of the step, then even move on to a third speed on some of rhythms. You can also use the slower speeds to teach the rhythms to dancers or drummers. My students really love it & it's indispensable for my class! The notes are really handy too. Thanks Tina & George! - Zsuzsi, Mediterraneo Productions, Santa Cruz
I enjoy the heavenly hips cd very much. And use it often -thnx for all your work. Best wishes, Sharifa Asmar in NC
I use your CD often when I teach my classes in an effort to share with my students the possibilities of drumming and how it corresponds so greatly to our movement as artists. The rhythms and patterns available on the CD are a wonderful tool in breaking down complex techniques & belly dance movement, while at the same time allowing the listener to experience simple, pure, & authentic percussive sound. I enjoy teaching to the CD as much as I enjoy listening to it! This CD is excellent for the seasoned professional & new coming beginning dancer alike. Thank you to George and Tina for making an amazing CD! - Akasha Starr, Entertainer & Instructor, Orange County
*A great find--buy it!
This cd is an excellent tool for teaching as well as for practicing...just like it claims. The tracks aren't songs, per se, but that's the beauty of this CD. Middle Eastern music is often too complex for teaching beginners and this CD simplifies the music without losing any of the fun or sensuality inherent in Middle Eastern music.
Author: F. Watson
Truly instrumental
No singing, no vocal infusions -- that's what I wanted. That's what I got, a truly instrumental delight. I am teaching a group of seniors whose ages range through 80 and up and this album is perfect as background while I am talking and as music to use for teaching this beautiful style of dance. You should see those seniors shimmy!
Author: Loretta Jackson
Habebti, I wanted to inform you that I did finally receive the CD and I am truly amazed!!!! Congratulations ....
Thanks again, Uaneyia (of Athens, Greece)
I've been waiting for a CD like yours. I've been belly dancing for 33 years, teaching for 30 of those & no one has ever done this. – Meleea
Hi Tina! I ordered a cd from you and absolutley LOVE it! – Inara
It's a completely acoustic, percussion based CD that is designed with teachers in mind by a teacher, for use in drilling and classroom practice. There are also some cuts that could be used for performance, including a drum solo. The students who experienced it really liked it! I plan to integrate it further into my classes.
It has a very earthy, bare yet rich sound, very traditional - i.e. no synthesizers or modern instrumentation. There are a couple of cuts with melody (oud) but it's mostly pure percussion - a lot of combining of things like dumbek, djembe and zills. It includes a good variety rhythms, which is always helpful for teachers. I believe the playing time is pretty long too.
This is a CD that gives a feeling of having a live drummer drumming for your class, so if that appeals to you, I highly recommend it! I personally really like to give my students the experience of dancing to live "raw" Arabic music, and since it's pretty hard to afford to pay drummers to come to every class, this type of CD is the next best thing.
- Lilla Varese, Instructor, Performer
What are Dance & Drum Students saying about Sweet Fruits for Heavenly Hips?
Excellent CD!
It is so important to understand the rhythms of Arabic dance. More often than not we hear the most common rhythms but not the others. This CD not only has many different rhythms but multiple styles/tempos of each rhythm. This CD is ideal for a class setting or even just practicing on your own. It's perfect because it stays consistent with the rhythm throughout i.e. if you're teaching movement to rhythm then all of a sudden it changes and you have to change the CD or restart the music.
It has warm up music then slow rhythms that move into fast. The music on the CD forces me to isolate my movements. The drum solo at the end is AWESOME! It will stop you in your tracks! By Melani Smartt
The Real Thing
Excellent CD. As a beginner drummer and an intermediate dancer I thought this cd was great. The drumming was innovative, authentic and soulful. I particularly like the way each song builds on the previous - drumming techniques started simple and George manages to integrate advance drumming with basic so its playable. As a dancer the CD does the same thing. Simple moves built upon each other to give each song levels and depth - great for layering! George and Tina you pulled of a great CD - can't wait for the next one or maybe even an instructional DVD. I give it a hearty zargoota and 2 thumbs up!! By M. Brierly
I love the drum CD, it is great, and easy to practice to. LOL, it also makes a great meditation CD! Thank you for making them available to us. - Shelby (of Santa Cruz)
This is not only an excellent CD but a great learning and teaching tool both for the drummers and the dancers. It's really good. Author: Mary Jane Aguilar
The CD tracks sound great! Mabruk! Congratulations. - Carolyn Mahfouz of Bellydancestore.com
Your new belly dance music CD is fantastic! Congratulations to both you and Tina...Litani