Finger Cymbals or Zills

Finger cymbals are known as Zill in Turkish, as Sagtat in Egypt,as Sil Sil in Arabic and Salasih in Farsi (Iranian). Zills are small metal disks, worn on the dancers fingers while she performs. Most practitioners of Middle Eastern dance wear four of them, one on each thumb, and one on the middle finger of each hand. In Morocco there is a playing style which uses only three finger symbols, two on one hand and one on the other hand.

It is best to buy your cymbals from a venue where you can actually strike them against one another to hear the sound they produce. Listen to a number of cymbals to find those with a tone which appeals to you.

Pitch and tone must be major considerations. The higher the tone the longer the sound carries. Bear in mind the following when making choices: what is the size of your hands? Do you dislike high sounds? How strong are your wrists? Do your hands get tired quickly?

Measure the distance around your middle finger near the joint nearest your fingertip. Add one inch, cut two pieces of elastic of that length. Thread each end through a slot so that a loop is formed on top of the cymbal and the ends protrude at the bottom.

Put your finger into this loop and tighten the elastic from the bottom until it fits around your finger securely. The loops should not be loose enough to allow the zills to slide around the fingers. Secure the ends on the underside. It is best for the ends of the elastic to be sewn together rather than knotted. Knots adversely affect the quality of the sound. It helps to mark the thumb zills in some way so that you know which have elastic fitted to your fingers and which are fitted for your thumbs.

Zills are usually made in two colors. A gold tone (brass) and a silver tone which is either a silver alloy or brass plated with nickel or silver. Cast zills are generally hand made and therefore not standardized. These instruments are susceptible to cracking.

Dancing using the zills to produce beautiful sounds calls for a great deal of practise. The elbows need to be held away from the body and the hands and fingers must be relaxed. Start by walking around and playing. If you get used to simply sitting and playing you will find it much more difficult to play and dance at the same time. Zills need not be played throughout the whole dance.

There are a number of different sounds that can be produced by the way the zills are played such as Basic Stroke, Lighter Tone, Muted Tone, Rim Tone,Clapping and Vibrating Zills.

These sounds are employed in various Zill patterns. If you are right-handed, begin playing with the right hand. If you are left-handed begin playing with the left hand.Singles: strike zills once on every beat of the music. Doubles: strike zill twice on each beat of the music. You can also play Triplets, Alternating zills, Beledi and other patterns associated with specific music.

If you live somewhere your practice will disturb people there are many ways of muffling the sound. For instance you could use non-sticky masking tape on the zills.

In Ghana in West Africa finger cymbals are used in the Northern part of the country They accompany a dance for men called Jera. In addition to the finger cymbals the dancers keep the rhythm by stamping to sound their anklets to which are attached strips of iron.

Even if you do not dance learning to play the zills can be most enjoyable and rewarding.

Dance to Health