Every Arabic rhythm on this site is listed below with the information you need to identify it by ear and reproduce it on a drum: its time signature, its region of origin, a one-line description of how it functions in performance, and its full dum/tak pattern written out as text. Opening a rhythm gives you a loop player with adjustable tempo, a counted breakdown of the cycle, and notes on how to tell it apart from its closest relatives.
The library is organised the way players actually think about iqa'at — by cycle length first. The two-beat rhythms (Ayyub, Malfuf, Fox, Karachi) are short, driving cycles used for entrances, fast dance passages and zikr. The four-beat family is the largest and the most useful to learn first: Maqsum, Baladi and Saidi differ only in where their dums fall, and between them they cover the majority of Egyptian and Levantine popular repertoire. The long eight-beat cycles — Masmudi Kabir, Wahda Kabira, Ciftetelli — open the frame up for classical tarab, muwashah and slow taqasim, where the space between strokes matters as much as the strokes themselves.
Difficulty labels refer to control rather than stroke count. A pattern like Ayyub is written in four steps but demands an exact offbeat dum; Saidi is marked intermediate because its paired middle dums invite rushing. Regions are indicative, not exclusive: rhythms travel, and Egyptian, Upper Egyptian, Levantine and Turkish players each shape the same skeleton differently. Treat each written pattern here as the reference form, then listen for how recordings ornament it.
Showing 1 of 16 rhythms
One of the most common Arabic rhythms. Foundational for belly dance, sha'abi and countless pop songs.
Maqsum dum tak pattern: D T – T D – T –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Heard in: Umm Kulthum – Enta Omri, Amr Diab – Tamally Maak, Fairouz – classic repertoire
Heavier cousin of Maqsum. The two dums land back-to-back at the top, giving it a rooted, folk feel.
Baladi dum tak pattern: D D – T D – T –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Heard in: Traditional Egyptian folk, Belly dance entrances
The two dums in the middle are the signature. Strong, martial feeling — often played with tahtib stick dance.
Saidi dum tak pattern: D T – D D – T –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Heard in: Upper Egyptian folk, Hakim – Nazra
also known as Zar
A hypnotic 2/4 used in zikr ceremonies. Simple on paper, trance-inducing at tempo.
Ayyub dum tak pattern: D – D T
Count: 1 & 2 &
Heard in: Sufi zikr, Trance-inducing sections in tarab
also known as Laff
A fast, rolling 2/4 built on a dotted feel. Very common for entrances and up-tempo dance sections.
Malfuf dum tak pattern: D – – T – – T –
Count: 1 e & a 2 e & a
Heard in: Belly dance entrances, Fast pop sections
A straight alternating dum-tak, borrowed from the foxtrot. Driving and easy to lock in.
Fox dum tak pattern: D T D T
Count: 1 & 2 &
Heard in: Mid-century Egyptian film songs
Starts on the tak and lands the dum last, which flips your sense of where the downbeat is.
Karachi dum tak pattern: T – T D
Count: 1 & 2 &
Heard in: Light dance repertoire
A busy tak-driven iqa' with one dum at the top. The paired taks give it its rushing character.
Haja' dum tak pattern: D – T T T – T T
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Heard in: Levantine dance repertoire
also known as Haja' 6/4
The extended 6/4 form of Haja' — the same cell repeated three times instead of twice.
Haja' Tawil dum tak pattern: D – T T T – T T T – T T
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 &
Heard in: Extended dance sections
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.
Katakafti dum tak pattern: T D – T D – T –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Heard in: Muwashah repertoire
also known as Chiftetelli · can also be played in 4/4
A slow, sensual 8/4 with lots of breathing room. Common in taqasim and slow entrance sections.
Ciftetelli dum tak pattern: D – T T – T T – D – D – T – – –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8 &
Heard in: Slow belly-dance intros, Instrumental taqasim
Baladi with the rest before the first tak filled in as a taka, which pushes the phrase forward.
Masmudi Saghir dum tak pattern: D – D – T k T – | D – – – T – – –
Count: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
Heard in: Egyptian classical and folk repertoire
The long 8/4 masmudi. Spacious enough that the takas become the main source of momentum.
Masmudi Kabir dum tak pattern: D – D – T k T k | D – T k T – – –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8 &
Heard in: Classical muwashah and dawr repertoire
The simplest 4/4 iqa' — one dum and two taks with plenty of air. The default bed for slow songs.
Wahda dum tak pattern: D – – T – – T –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Heard in: Slow tarab songs, Vocal improvisation sections
also known as Wahda Sunbati
The stretched 8/4 wahda associated with Riyad al-Sunbati. Slow, stately, and very open.
Wahda Kabira dum tak pattern: D – – T – – T – | D – – – T – – –
Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8 &
Heard in: Umm Kulthum long-form songs
The wedding procession rhythm — celebratory and loud, driven by the sixteenth-note taka.
Zaffa dum tak pattern: D – T k T – T – | D – T – T – – –
Count: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
Heard in: Wedding processions, Festive entrances