Customer Reviews

Finger Cymbals for Belly Dance - Tobias Roberson with Rachel Brice & Mardi Love

5 star:		(8)
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I was a little hesitant to buy this - at $40 it's a bit pricier than other instructional dvds I've seen for belly dancers - but it is totally worth it for what you get: almost 3 hours of material, basic exercises, two full compositions, complete liner notes, and video of Rachel Brice and Mardi Love performing to each of the compositions.

Tobias is a drummer and he approaches finger cymbals as an instrument. The compositions he teaches are designed to be played with a drum accompaniment. He does not teach how to dance and zil -- you have to work that out for yourself -- but the clips of Rachel and Mardi at the end tie it all together. After the first composition Rachel and Mardi perform a duet, illustrating how dancers and drummer can work together musically. After the second composition they each perform separately; it's cool to see their different interpretations of the music.

This dvd is really well done -- very good picture and sound. It was easy to follow, and the close-up angle is helpful: fantastic for beginners and us visual learners who get our right and left mixed up. It also has lots of chapter breaks, which is great for me because I don't have 3 hours to sit down and do the whole thing at once. It's easy to jump around to whichever section I'm working on.

I have been playing cymbals for years and definitely feel I've learned something new with this. I found it challenging to learn the compositions, and liked Tobias' teaching style and perspective. While I won't adopt everything he suggested, there was plenty for me to work on and apply to my own dance and zilling. I highly recommend this dvd.

Yes, it's true! I thought with Rachel Brice and Mardi Love doing a duet and solos on this DVD, it is worth the price just for that. Very ingenious marketing strategy. I am guessing a lot of dancers bought it for the same reason.

When I opened the package, I went straight to the performance pieces. They were all good and usable material, shot straight forward with no silly camera angle changes like a lot of videos on the market now that are supposedly geared toward dance enthusiasts! I noted the cymbal work and was impressed enough to decide to check out Tobias' instruction and breakdown of the rhythms. I am really glad I did.

I have been playing and performing with finger cymbals for over 10 years. Not ever dancer is lucky enough to have an instructor that emphasizes the importance of playing cymbals when learning how to dance. I found this instructional DVD to be good for beginners who might need that education, and I also found it to be a good practice companion for the seasoned cymbal player.

In the past, I have purchased instructional DVDs that did not meet my expectations. This DVD was different because it addressed the complete package, from beginning instruction to performance in segments that could be built upon as the student progresses. I found this DVD to be a product a dancer could grow into and use as a reference and practice guide. I found the liner notes and downloadable sound clips to be very helpful and above and beyond what I expected when I purchased the DVD. The sound and images on the DVD were of high quality and I really appreciated the different camera angles during the instruction portions.

I highly recommend it. Great job!

This DVD serves to bridge the gap between musicians and dancers using the percussion instrument that most dancers start out on. Demonstrating the interaction between finger cymbals and drum Tobias has Faisal giving lively doumbek accompanyment to the finger cymbal combinations. With clear directions illustrating technique and posture Tobias also illustrates how to set up a small simple show by providing some drumming and the lovely choreography with Mardi Love and Rachel Brice. Advanced dancers and drummers will be able to also incorporate this material with the finger cymbals instruction which covers beginning and intermediate levels.

Really I think that anyone can enjoy learnig finger cymbals, if you are involved at all in the dance and music scene the addition of good crisp zills to a open improv set is usually quite welcome. It is very easy to practice on the go as well. Even if you are shy about performing on stage, or unsure where to start with an instrument you can easily start here with the purchase of some very inexpensive zills and this intensive instructional DVD.

This DVD really worked for me. I play much better now that I've used this DVD.

I love the way he shows you how to play different sounds with your zils. Even better, he explains how to use these different sounds to enrich your playing.

This DVD is very easy to follow along. I love the way Tobias explains and breaks down each rhythm. I like the way he increases the tempo in stages. I like the way the camera is often over his shoulder so you can see him playing from his perspective.

The two songs he teaches are fun, and they give you a chance to feel how these rhythms are used in a song, and how to transition between rhythms.

The dances are great too. Yes, the sound isn't the best, and it's a bit dark, but the dances are great. The camera is steady and there are no "art cuts" to distract. My favorite part is the second song where you get to see Mardi's interpretation, then Rachel's. This helped me see the different ways to move to these rhythms.

This is an awesome DVD for any dancer who wants to improve her zils. Good for both beginners and those with intermediate zil skills.

I'm happy I've bought this dvd. Everything is explained very clearly and there are many chapters to be able to learn at one's own pace. If something is too easy for me I just skip that chapter so that I can practice with the next one at medium speed. In addition to that, the patterns can be also found on the cover of the CD. Everything is clear, well structured and nice to watch.

There is lots of repetition and Tobias is very nice and patient. He was also very friendly when I had to contact him to ask for information.

I would have liked to find more drills with bellydance moves, but I bought other DVDs about this. Even if I prefer cabaret bellydance, it is very helpful to watch Mardi Love and Rachel Brice dance with the zills using the patterns Tobias teaches.

I also love the way Faisal Zedan plays the drum. I had to put down the zills and grab my doumbek and play the way he does :-) So, for me it is a dvd I can use to practice playing the zills and the doumbek!

Amazing! I'm an intermediate belly dancer and have never played any type of instrument before. The instructions and practices were clear and easy to understand and I was playing and dancing in no time. The week after I received the DVD I brought my zils to my belly dance class and the instructor was amazed at my progress. This DVD is a must for anyone who wants to learn to play while dancing. Thank you!

This video took me from rank newbie, to dancing with zils. Not an easy task! Tobias Roberson is a great teacher, starting out slowly, and building up to full compositions that you can play along to. A stellar tutorial, whether you are brand new to playing zils, or an old hand.

Does this DVD demonstrate the 7 most popular bellydance rhythms: baladi, saidi, maksoum, masmoudi, ciftetelli (slow Arabic-style and fast Turkish-style), karsilama (9/8), and gypsy-style karsilama and the rhythms on doumbek and zils.

Will it specify and tell me what each rhythm is? For example the instructor will say that we are now going to go over maksoum?

I would like to understand and go over each different rhythm - I don't want to buy the DVD in vain.