The Heavy Sa’idi

Let’s get down to business and put some of what we have learnt into practice. We are going to look at our first rhythm, the Heavy Sa’idi.

The Sa’idi is a rhythm from Egypt, named after the Sa’id, the south of the country. The Heavy Sa’idi is its simplest form, and it is the rhythm I almost always start with when I teach the darbuka, because it is so easy to play and so satisfying. It works just as beautifully on the handpan: the deep dings and the bright Tek give it exactly the contrast it needs.

The basic form of the Heavy Sa’idi #

The basic form of the Heavy Sa’idi uses only dings and a Tek, and it is a straightforward rhythm to learn. The tab looks like this:

As you can see, the Heavy Sa’idi is a 4-beat rhythm, with five strokes in it; 4 dings and 1 Tek.

However, to get us playing this rhythm quickly and decently, I’m going to present it differently for you.

Internalising the Heavy Sa’idi rhythm #

Look at the following tab:

If you notice, the rhythmic emphasis is still the same, i.e. the dings and the Tek haven’t moved at all. However, I have added three “×” marks into the rhythm. These stand for a Space. All I want you to do is remember that when you see a “×”, there is a space there. If you’re confused, don’t worry! We are going to internalise this rhythm using the spaces to help us.

I’m going to introduce two ways to internalise this rhythm. Note that this doesn’t work for every rhythm, and we shouldn’t need to internalise more complicated rhythms like this later in the course. We are just going to try a few things to make it easier for us to learn our first rhythm.

Internalising the rhythm by saying it #

One of the easiest ways to internalise a rhythm and get used to it before playing it is to say the rhythm and get used to its flow. I want you to say the rhythm like this:

Ding – Ding – Space – Ding – Ding – Space – Tek – Space – REPEAT

Each Ding, Space and Tek should be said with an equal amount of time between them. I want you to tap repeatedly and evenly on something (like a table, or even your leg) while you say this rhythm. Each time you tap, you should be saying one of Ding, Space or Tek. After every eight taps, you should be repeating the rhythm. Once you can do this, move on to walking the rhythm.

Internalising the rhythm by walking it #

Once we can say the rhythm, we are going to practise the rhythm by saying it while walking. It might seem a little strange at first, but it is a fantastic way to get used to the timing in this particular rhythm.

1. Find a place where there is space to walk around (a garden, a street, a park etc.)
2. Start walking at a constant speed, not too fast, not too slowly. About the same speed you would walk when regularly going about your day.
3. Start repeating the rhythm, saying a stroke every time you put your foot down and take a step, as follows:

4. Once you can do this, and you are comfortable with it, I want you to stop saying “Space”. This means on your 3rd, 6th, and 8th footstep, you just take a step, without saying anything. It should sound like this:

Congratulations, if you can do this, you’ve been saying the Heavy Sa’idi rhythm correctly! That’s a fantastic accomplishment. It’s now time to start playing it on the handpan.

Playing the rhythm on the handpan #

Now that you can say the rhythm correctly, we’re going to start playing it.

Here’s how I want you to start playing the Heavy Sa’idi:

1. Before you start playing, just practise the Ding Ding sound. Get used to playing two dings right after each other, both with a clean bounce. The second ding shouldn’t be any weaker than the first.
2. Once you’re confident at this, make sure you are in a good sitting position (either on the floor or on a chair) to start practising.
3. Start saying the Heavy Sa’idi rhythm, as you’ve been practising.
4. Once you are saying the rhythm in a nice flow, start playing the dings and the Tek along with your voice. Both are played with your right hand.
5. After a little practice, and maybe more than a few mistakes, you should be able to play the Heavy Sa’idi confidently!

You’ll notice something the darbuka doesn’t do: your dings keep ringing through the spaces. That’s exactly right. Let them ring. Don’t try to stop them — the ring is what fills the spaces and makes the rhythm sound so full on a handpan.