Become the Zillstar you are meant to be!
Ready to banish zill confusion and overwhelm and find joy and creativity in your finger cymbals playing?
Welcome to The Finger Cymbal Revolution - the most comprehensive, game-changing online finger cymbal learning experience in the world.
Registration is now closed.
Registration is now closed.
Get on the waitlist to be the first to know when The Finger Cymbal Revolution opens again.
Are you frustrated with the challenge of moving and zilling at the same time and just don't know what to do to improve?
Are you ready to feel comfortable, confident and joyful playing and dancing with your finger cymbals?
Would you enjoy connecting with an incredible community of finger cymbal players who are working along side you to level up their zill skills?
Don't sit on the sidelines or break out in a sweat when it is time to play and dance with your zills!
The finger cymbals are an ancient and integral part of belly dance. And while the art of the zills has taken a back seat in many dancers' practice for the last few years, they are now experiencing a huge resurgence.
Join the wave of dancers worldwide who are continuing this beautiful and ancient art form and finding joy and creativity in the process.
Welcome to
The Finger Cymbal Revolution
a revolutionary and game-changing exploration of the wonderful world of finger cymbals!
Go where most zillers never go and explore the many facets of the incredible music instrument in your hands! The Finger Cymbal Revolution will help you understand your zills in a whole new way - making you a stronger and more confident dancer all the way around.
On Demand Classes
Live Interactive Classes & Experiences
Insightful Private Q&A Sessions
Expert Interviews
An Exclusive Community
200+ hours of
finger cymbal content
What you will learn:
- Sound exploration
- Music Theory
- Riffs and Patterns
- Drills
- Acapella Zills
- Dance Combinations
- Discussions & Interviews
- And more!
"I remember watching Sahira playing a few months ago and thinking - WOW, so many different sounds, it must be *really* hard to play like this. Now it seems possible."
- Rubi
"Learning to pair zills with dance moves really tuned me into the musical pattern of the moves themselves and made me much more aware of timing and transitions In a brand new way! This will definitely help my non zill dancing too.
One of the big motivations for delving into zill practice is that I realize how great it is for enhancing musical understanding and awareness for dancing, and that’s really cool! "
- Jennifer
The Finger Cymbal Revolution is a proven method of zill learning that can make even the most zill-shy dancer feel comfortable and confident with their cymbals.
"I wanted to personally thank you for this community, I was so intimidated by Zills but you provide a way for me to better understand the mechanics of playing and I actually look forward to my practices now, still have a long way to go but I definitely do not feel intimidated any longer so again THANK YOU!"
- Nicole
Become the Zillstar you are meant to be!
The membership is already full of zill drills, patterns, sounds, technique and combinations to keep you dancing for weeks, and new material is added for you on a regular basis!
Maybe you're already a huge zill geek (like me!) or maybe you are a bit more hesitant in your affection. Either way I am here to give you the concrete resource you need to become confident with your zill playing no matter what your current level.
In this course you will move beyond the basic four sounds and explore an entirely new world of Rishes, Frills, Patty Cakes and Chomps. You will geek out with funky beats, ambidextrous playing and syncopation that makes your booty shake.
And it's not just about the music. With this membership you get exclusive access to expert interviews, the first look at upcoming finger cymbal choreographies, challenges and intensives, as well as a huge community of fabulous dancers looking to grow their zill skills and support YOU in your journey.
Meet Nicole
I’d like to share a win as a zill newbie! I spent short practice periods this month to review the Fabulous Finger Cymbal Basics course inside the membership. Compared to where I was when I started, I feel much more comfortable with the zills now! I can even enjoy myself grooving and moving with them while practicing. Also, trying to pair zills with dance moves really tuned me into the musical pattern of the moves themselves and made me much more aware of timing and transitions in a brand new way! This will definitely help my non-zill dancing too.
First we make the music... and then we dance!
One of the many beauties of the finger cymbals is that we get to create as well as express the music.
We will zill with music and without.
Need a step-by-step look at the basics?
...I've got you!
Want to create your own zill solo while you dance?
... Let's do it! The sky is the limit!
Here's what waiting for you inside.
When you join The Finger Cymbal Revolution you get immediate access to seven different finger cymbal courses.
Course 1 - Fabulous Finger Cymbal Basics
This is the place to begin your adventure if you are a newer finger cymbal player! Here you will be given a solid introduction to the artform - from choosing the perfect set of finger cymbals, to sewing in the elastic and playing your first sound and basic patterns.
Course 2 - Finger Cymbal Rhythms, Patterns and Sounds
This course contains instruction focused on zill sounds and rhythms - Everything from the four basic sounds to more advanced sounds like "The Frill" and "The Canter". You'll dive deeper into the most popular rhythms in the "Baladi, Saidi, Maqsum series" and learn rhythms in odd meters too. Inside this course you will discover the secrets that will take your zilling from basic to bombastic!
Course 3 - Zill Skills, Drills and Thrills
This course is home to many fabulous and highly focused zill drills for speed and dexterity that are the key to leveling up your skills.
Course 4 - Finger Cymbal Theory - The When, Where, What and How
Inside this course is you will find more theory-based classes like a "Choosing what to play" and "Playing zills to pop music". This course is a deep-dive into the behind-the-scenes theory that will give you the key to understanding WHEN and WHERE to play within the music, WHAT to play and HOW to choose patterns musically.
Course 5 - Finger Cymbal Riffs and Combinations
This is the home for dozens of acapella riffs and combinations. Ready to plug and play with some fun and funky zill riffs with dance combos? This course is where to go!
Course 6 - Finger Cymbal Fun - Expert Interviews and Zill Reviews
Expert interviews, zill review videos, as well as behind-the-scenes tours at Saroyan Mastercrafts are here inside this course. So much fun and totally inspirational!
Course 7 - Acapella Finger Cymbal Foundations
This revolutionary course is a must-have for any dancer looking to take their zills into the realm of acapella zill solo work!
"A reason that I love learning zills with Sahira is that she helps me break it down in a way I'll understand and she's also helped me come up with things I never thought I could do before, not just with the music, but also while dancing. Before you know it, you're putting it all together. It's wonderful!!"
- Kelly
"My zill journey has begun. I bought the membership and ordered 3 sets of zills. I'm anxiously waiting for them. I ordered student zills and some to work in to. Can't wait. Now when I dance to my own drummer I can add zills! I'll always have music. You've inspired me. You are a treasure. Thank you. "
- Dey Lynn
Registration is now closed.
Get on the waitlist to be the first to know when The Finger Cymbal Revolution opens again.
And that's not all!
The Finger Cymbal Revolution is a living, growing, interactive finger cymbal experience!
The Finger Cymbal Revolution uses the "flipped classroom" methodology being used at leading universities around the world.
Every single month you will receive a brand-new on-demand tutorial designed to keep you moving forward in your practice.
Two weeks after that tutorial releases we meet LIVE on Zoom to work together on that material so you can ask questions, get personal feedback and connect with your fellow Revolution members.
This gives you time to work through the material at your own pace before we meet live so you can come with questions and feeling more confident to work through the material together.
✓ Over 200 hours of on-demand zill instructional courses including sounds, patterns, drills, rhythms, technique, combinations, theory, interviews, zill reviews, and more. ($1358 value)
✓ Monthly on-demand finger cymbal instructional video releases ($39 value)
✓ Monthly live interactive Zoom classes ($20 value)
✓ A monthly live Q&A Session ($20 value)
✓ Twice yearly showcase performance opportunities
✓ Access to a fabulous online community ($priceless)
Plus, when you join you will receive these five bonuses to super charge your practice.
✓ All the recordings from the 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Zill Challenges so you can experience again (or for the first time) the massive momentum created in these accelerated and hyper-focused 10-day finger cymbal learning experiences. ($316 value)
✓ A digital copy of Dawn Devine's incredible book - "Zills: Music on Your Fingertips". Dawn literally wrote the book on finger cymbals - everything from history, to manufacturing, playing them, dancing with them and caring for them - this book is an indispensable resource for the serious zill player. ($10 value)
The Finger Cymbal Revolution Membership brings you a $1,763 in zill learning value for an incredibly low monthly price.
JUST $29/Month
Plus, you'll be backed by a risk-free cancel anytime policy.
The Finger Cymbal Revolution is the most uniquely multi-faceted online finger cymbal program that gives you the step-by-step process you crave for your personal zill practice. Not only hundreds of hours of instructional content through many aspects of the art form, but also the personalized attention, live interactive opportunities and supportive community needed to maximize your success.
When you join, you will have immediate access to the 200+ hours of content already included in the membership, PLUS all the past monthly on-demand releases and the past year of live member event videos, the online community and a new member orientation to get you started in the best direction possible for your personal finger cymbal revolution.
If you don't feel totally excited and motivated by what you find there, you can cancel at anytime. There is no contract or commitment. You have nothing to lose and a beautiful world of finger cymbal inspiration to gain!
Frequently Asked Questions
"Now movements that would have been almost impossible for me to get on my own make more sense to me. With the zills I can finally feel the rhythm in my body."
- Janette
"Thanks to you I start playing finger cymbals again. You have also taught me that the excitement of loving your finger cymbals is the motivation for yourself and for others to learn more. Thank you."
- Suzzane
Registration for The Finger Cymbal Revolution closes on June 1st at 12pm central.
"I highly recommend ANY opportunity that you get to work with Sahira. She is one of the most dedicated teachers that I have had the honor of training with in my dance education. The amount of attention and guidance she gave to me was unsurpassed by any other that I’ve experienced to date. Sahira will patiently walk you through each and every step in order to help you learn. There is no doubt that she will always be my “go to” instructor because I know that I can depend on her to be 100% committed to helping me!"
- Corinna
Hey there! I'm Sahira.
I've been a musician for the last 38 years and a dancer for 23. When it came time to teach my students how to play the finger cymbals I quickly realized that the off-handed "just put them on and play this" way that I was taught decades ago was not going to work.
So I drew from my musical training and developed a method of teaching finger cymbals that starts from the ground up and takes it step-by-step so students can truly understand and digest music and their zills in a brand new way.
For the past decade, this method has helped hundreds of dancers all over the world find confidence, excitement and creativity in their zilling. The unique combination of deep musical knowledge, a type A engineering mind plus my love of laughter leads to classes that are clear, focused and fun - the perfect combination to help you get the results you crave in less time and with more joy!
The result? Dancers who LOVE the finger cymbals and understand music and they're dancing at a deeper musical level.
Wanting to offer this revolution to dancers everywhere, I took my classes online in 2013 and have been teaching and sharing my love of the zills with people all over the world ever since.
And when the world was forced online three years ago I was already here, arms open wide to welcome people into the wonderful world of finger cymbals. And while recorded class content kept people moving at first, after a while we discovered that video learning alone just was not enough.
And so this membership was born.
I have seen magical transformations in my students when they have the opportunity to learn at their own pace with on-demand content and then bring that knowledge into a live class setting to take the material further. The incredible speed and depth at which students learn with this hybrid system makes it the perfect way to level up your finger cymbal practice.
And beyond the technique and concepts learned, the connections and friendships that are created between dancers in the program are touching and transformative. I am just one small part of the motivational force here... YOU are the magical ingredient.
I would love nothing more than to help you find the same magical transformation in your zill playing.
Whether you have never played the finger cymbals and are looking for a solid foundation to build upon, or have been hesitant or confused about the instrument, or even embarrassed that you do not already know how to play them, there is an open and accepting place for you in this community.
Here in The Finger Cymbal Revolution we celebrate every stage of the process, know that the journey is the destination and "embrace the suck" when learning new things proves challenging!
Won't you join us on the dance floor?
I'm saving a place for you there.
Sincerely,
Welcome to your zill adventure.
Welcome to
The Finger Cymbal Revolution!
Registration is now closed.
Get on the waitlist to be the first to know when The Finger Cymbal Revolution opens again.