Tap any iqa' to open the loop trainer with its dum/tak notation.
One of the most common Arabic rhythms. Foundational for belly dance, sha'abi and countless pop songs.
Heavier cousin of Maqsum. The two dums land back-to-back at the top, giving it a rooted, folk feel.
The two dums in the middle are the signature. Strong, martial feeling — often played with tahtib stick dance.
A hypnotic 2/4 used in zikr ceremonies. Simple on paper, trance-inducing at tempo.
A fast, rolling 2/4 built on a dotted feel. Very common for entrances and up-tempo dance sections.
A straight alternating dum-tak, borrowed from the foxtrot. Driving and easy to lock in.
Starts on the tak and lands the dum last, which flips your sense of where the downbeat is.
A busy tak-driven iqa' with one dum at the top. The paired taks give it its rushing character.
The extended 6/4 form of Haja' — the same cell repeated three times instead of twice.
A rare iqa' used in the Muwashah vocal genre. It opens on a tak before the dum, which shifts the whole sense of the downbeat.
A slow, sensual 8/4 with lots of breathing room. Common in taqasim and slow entrance sections.
Baladi with the rest before the first tak filled in as a taka, which pushes the phrase forward.
The long 8/4 masmudi. Spacious enough that the takas become the main source of momentum.
The simplest 4/4 iqa' — one dum and two taks with plenty of air. The default bed for slow songs.
The stretched 8/4 wahda associated with Riyad al-Sunbati. Slow, stately, and very open.
The wedding procession rhythm — celebratory and loud, driven by the sixteenth-note taka.