How to play finger cymbals or zills

Finger cymbals are called "zils" or "zills" in Turkey and "sagat" or "zagat" in Arabic. They are small metal disks, worn on your hands and played while you are belly dancing. Most belly dancers wear four of them: one on each thumb, and one on the middle finger of each hand. In Morocco, there is a style of playing the finger cymbals that employs only three finger cymbals: two on one hand, and one on the other hand. The instructions on this page assume you will be using the typical set of 4 finger cymbals--one for each thumb, and one for the middle finger of each hand. This three-part video lesson series, geared toward beginners, will get you started playing basic patterns. For more information, and to get started playing the zills yourself, take a look.