The Troupe
This drummer's journey with other drummers.

The Masmoudi is a classical 8/4 rhythm.

While being a basic beat Masmoudi can still be a lot of fun to play.  There are a number of variations, and the second half of it is essentially made for solos, rolls, and fills.

Masmoudi, and its variations, cause a lot of confusion.  The variations of Masmoudi in 8/4 are what I presenting here.  These are called Masmoudi Kebir (roughly translates as “Big Masmoudi”) by most classical and traditional drummers.  When these 8/4 Masmoudi are compressed into 4/4 time they are called Masmoudi Saghir (roughly translates as “Small Masmoudi”) by traditionalists, but nearly everyone else calls them Beledi.   If that confused you, good, that means you were paying attention.

For now, because I am a western drummer and want to keep things as simple as possible, I will call these two common variations “Three Doum Masmoudi” and “Two Doum Masmoudi”   Both rhythms are nearly identical, and are played with the same pace.  However, the only difference is not the Doum or Tek on the third beat.   Feel makes a big difference with these two variations, making a Walking feel into a Warring feel.

The Three Doum Masmoudi (8/4)

Basic (Doom and Tek)

Simple Count (First Half)

1	&	2	&	3	&	4	&
D		D		D		T

Simple Count (Second Half)

5	&	6	&	7	&	8	&
D				T		T

Three Doum Masmoudi is also called a Walking Masmoudi, as it can bring to mind a person striding at a deliberate pace.  Learn the Three Doum Masmoudi as a simple count first.   Practice until you can play it while speaking it, or counting.  Masmoudi should feel deliberate, with a bit of groove.  It is slow, not lazy.  It is not loud, but still powerful.  It is a good test of a drummer’s ability to generate emotion in his audience.

Literally, say, “Doum   Doum   Doum   Tek   Doum      Tek   Tek”.   It helps!

The Two Doum Masmoudi (8/4)

Basic (Doom and Tek)

Simple Count (First Half)

1	&	2	&	3	&	4	&
D		D		T		T

Simple Count (Second Half)

5	&	6	&	7	&	8	&
D				T		T

Two Doum Masmoudi is also known as a Warring Masmoudi because it can be thought of as a man and woman arguing back and forth.  Imagine the Doums as the man’s voice and the Teks and Kas as the woman.  I tend to imagine it as the man saying “Hmmm” and the woman saying “Tsk!”

Two Doum Masmoudi should feel a bit groovier.  Again, feel is very important to the Masmoudi.  You want to create a deliberate, seductive space for the dancers.  And not seductive in a “wearing racy lingerie in candlelight” way, but more like seductive in a “working in the garden together on a warm day” way.

Have I mentioned that feel is important?  Learn from these kinds of rhythms what mental images work for you in creating feel.   Drumming is entirely about communication.  A drummer without feel, that has nothing to communicate, is just some guy beating out sounds on some thing.

Literally, say, “Doum   Doum   Tek   Tek   Doum      Tek   Tek”.   It helps!

Practice until you can play the basic Masmoudi while holding a conversation, or listening to other music on the radio.

Once you get there then you should start thinking about ornamentation, and here are a couple of examples.

The Three Doum Masmoudi (8/4)

Ornamentation (Doom and Tek)

(First Half)

1	&	2	&	3	&	4	&
D		D		D	K	T

(Second Half)

5	&	6	&	7	&	8	&
D		T	K	T	K	T

The Two Doum Masmoudi (8/4)

Ornamentation (Doom and Tek)

(First Half)

1	&	2	&	3	&	4	&
D		D		T	K	T

(Second Half)

5	&	6	&	7	&	8	&
D		T		T	K	T	K