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A little intro video to what we've got planned in Feb for Finger Cymbal Awareness Month! Are you ready? #fingercymbalawarenessmonth #dancenerds #fingercymbals @morganfaybellydance @bevinvictoria @danielleelizabethyogadance music by Baksana (composed by @thepaulalone)

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Jan 26, 2018 at 9:32am PST

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OKAY! All systems go!!! Here is a lil vid explaining why we are so dang excited about #fingercymbalawarenessmonth ! Tell us, What are YOU most excited about? Comment below and let us know! Also, we're going to dive right in with "Friends on Fridays" challenge tomorrow, so gather your finger cymbal fam and get ready to play! Share with and tag your friends here so they can get ready to rock too! You can visit our website for more info on what this is all about, more details on the challenges, and archived vids as we go for easy access. #bellydance #fingercymbals #practice #dancechallenge #musicchallenge #wearingmanyhats #youcandoit #community

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 1, 2018 at 1:56pm PST

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Alright, Ready your instruments! Start off on a good foot by showing your cymbals some love. Make sure your elastic is fresh and securely sewn for all the ridiculously awesome zil playing you'll be doing this month. It really does make a difference in your technique. Floppy zils are distracting, and stray threads, bunchy elastic, and *gasp* safety pins ALL have a direct effect on the tone of your cymbals. #fingercymbalawarenessmonth #fingercymbals #dancerlife #bellydance #instruments Baksana music (practice track) by @thepaulalone

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Jan 29, 2018 at 11:28am PST

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Before we begin to dive deeper with finger cymbal playing, here is a quick warm up for our hands, arms & wrists! Its important to keep our bodies healthy especially when having extended practice sessions. Even when short on time, a quick warm up tied to our breath can also help our minds settle into full and calm awareness. And we all know a focused mind is really helpful in both practice and performance. #fingercymbalawarenessmonth #warmup #musicianwarmups

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 5, 2018 at 12:29pm PST

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Our first finger cymbal "challenge" FRIDAY with FRIENDS! You can interpret this however you want. Maybe your friends are other dancers, maybe they are your family, maybe your pets, maybe strangers at the bus stop… playing in the company of others can be challenging, but it keeps us accountable in the moment! This could also be a "flashback post" since its the first one and you may not have time to prep. Lets Celebrate Community! Tag @baksanabellydance and #fingercymbalawarenessmonth so we can see your awesome posts! #fingercymbals #bellydance #musicians #practice #improv #improvisation #percussionist

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 2, 2018 at 9:20am PST

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We often are asked “what cymbals do you play?” Or “hey, where should I get my cymbals?” We love @saroyan_zills and here is a lil video explaining which style we play and why we like them. Also, you’ll hear the difference between brass and silver #fingercymbals within the same physical style. What cymbals do YOU have and love to play?! Stay tuned later in the month for when we’ll post a more in-depth feature on different styles of cymbals. Happy #fingercymbalawarenessmonth

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 10, 2018 at 3:46pm PST

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Here's your first Write It Wednesday Challenge! @morganfaybellydance will play you a lil tune and your mission, should you choose to accept, is to write it out using the #baksana finger cymbal notation! If you don't have the Baksana booklet, we'd still love to see you playing the pattern! Post a pic of your notation skillz or a video of you playing and be sure to tag @baksanabellydance and use the hashtag #fingercymbalawarenessmonth so we can see you rock out 🎶⚡️🎶

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 7, 2018 at 10:23am PST

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#tryittuesdays with @bevinvictoria of Baksana! This is a short combo with 2 different versions (swipe <—— to see the more advanced version). Try out just playing it or dancing with it! Have fun and make sure to tag @baksanabellydance and #fingercymbalawarenessmonth so we can rock out with you! #baksanabellydance #fingercymbals #fingercymbalawarenessmonth #zills #practice #dance #bellydance #whyistherenozillemoji #tryitout #newthings #whatsthebuzz

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 13, 2018 at 2:29pm PST

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Write it out challenge for a ***PRIZE!!!*** Between now and Friday Feb 16th 1) write out the composition in this video using our Baksana Finger Cymbal Notation 2) post a photo on instagram or fb 3) tag us @baksanabellydance and #baksanafingercymbalnotation – Then we will enter your name into a drawing for a free cymbal bag! Name will be drawn on Friday! The composition does not have to be 100% correct, we just want to see you trying your best!!! Tip: write the “numerical counts” out below the staff lines and work on matching the note heads to the numbers to get started, then add the rest! Good luck! #fingercymbalawarenessmonth #fingercymbals #percussionists #bellydance

A post shared by Baksana (@baksanaensemble) on Feb 14, 2018 at 10:22am PST