Zills, also known as zagat in Arabic, are small cymbals worn on the fingers of belly dancers. Dancers strike their zills to emphasize the dance or to help establish a clear beat; zills are also used when dancers work the room for tips and compliments, when this is expected. Zills are available in a variety of styles at many dance supply stores, and they can also be purchased from companies that specialize in Middle Eastern musical instruments; because zills are occasionally used in Western music, some Western supplies may also carry them.
Zills are traditionally worn on both hands’ middle finger and thumb, creating two sets of cymbals. A skilled player can use zills to make a variety of sounds, such as clear ringing tones, clacks, and clicks, creating a versatile array of sounds to accompany a dance. Zills can be small and dainty, producing a quiet but high-pitched ring, or they can be heavier and larger, producing deeper tones that can be heard all the way to the back of the crowd, depending on the sound.
Learning to play zills can be difficult, and many dancers struggle at first. Playing the cymbals themselves is fairly simple, but doing so while dancing can add a new level of difficulty. Most dancers agree that learning to play the play zills takes a lot of practice, and that dancers should get into the habit of always moving when practicing their zills so that they don’t get used to sitting and playing.
The majority of zills are made of brass, and they are constructed in the same way they have been for thousands of years. Many museums have zills from before the birth of Christ on display, and as paintings and other works of art show, dancers used bones, sticks, clappers, and other percussion instruments before zills. Dance music’s rhythmic beat lends itself well to zill playing, especially when the dancer and musicians are in tune with each other.
Many people associate the sound of zills with Middle Eastern music in general, not just belly dancing, and they are occasionally used to add an Oriental flavor to musical compositions. Castanets, the percussion instruments used in traditional Spanish dance, are another example of zills. Flamenco is a descendant of the belly dancing tradition, which is a legacy of Spain’s Muslim conquest.