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The history of Samba
Samba isn’t just one style of music. It’s a wide range of different music and dance forms. Some styles, like the Samba-Reggae, which was started in El Salvador from Bahia during the 1980, is recognized as its own form of music.
Where did it come from?
Originally, Samba was a mixture of rhythms from the West African slaves combined with Indian and Portuguese music. The complicated rhythms can be partly retraced to the trance-music of the Candomblè-Kulte. Also, elements of Angolan Semba were introduced and were combined with bohemian Polka.
In 1917, Samba wasn’t defined as its own music genre in Rio by Maxixe and Marcha. The Samba-de-roda, which means “Samba in a circle”, is used by the Recòncavo as a term for samba. This is probably the most original form of Samba. The typical way of performing this style is dancing or singing. Instruments aren’t necessary.
Normally, Samba has a 2/4 beat with interlocking, syncopated lines of melody. The easiest Samba pattern is a rhythm produced by clapping, which was performed by slaves and is still used in Bahia.
Samba can range from small ensembles like Pagode and Rodas, to large orchestras known as Gafieira, to the gigantic Escolas de samba in Rio.
The Pandeiro
There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes. Also, the metal jingles (called platinelas in Portuguese) are crisper, drier and less sustained on pandeiros than on the tambourine. This provides clarity when swift, complex rhythms are played.
How to play it
It is held in one hand, and struck on the head by the other hand to produce the sound. Typical pandeiro patterns are played by alternating the thumb, fingertips, heel, and palm of the hand.
A pandeiro can also be shaken to make sound, or one can run a finger along the head to create a "rasp" noise. The pandeiro is used in a number of Brazilian music forms, such as Samba, Choro, and Capoeira music.
The Repinique
The Samba way of playing a Tom-Tom.
Repinique facts
A Repinique is a two-headed Brazilian drum used in samba baterias (percussion ensembles). It is used in the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo Carnival baterias and in the baterias of Bahia, where it is known as repique. It is equivalent to the tom-tom in the Western drum kit.
Typically its body is made of metal. The heads, of nylon, are tightened through the use of metal tuning rods. The instrument is about the same width as the Brazilian caixa (snare drum) but several inches longer in height and lacking a snare. It is held using a shoulder strap attached to one of the tuning rods. It may also be played with a pair of beaters made of several thin flexible rods bundled together.
The Surdo
The Surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably samba.
About Surdos
Surdo sizes normally vary between 16" and 22" diameter. In Rio de Janeiro, surdos are generally 60cm deep. Surdos used in the northeast of Brazil are commonly more shallow (50cm deep). Surdos may have shells of wood, galvanized steel, or aluminum. Heads may be goatskin or plastic. Rio baterias commonly use surdos that have skin heads (for rich tone) with aluminum shells (for lightness). Surdos are worn from a waist belt or shoulder strap, oriented with the heads roughly horizontal. The bottom head is not played.
A typical Carnival samba bateria in Rio de Janeiro has three surdo parts distinguished by tunings (and, by extension, sizes of drum). Together these three parts create a distinctive pattern which propels and drives the samba.
The surdos on which the primeira ("first") or marcação ("marker") part is played are the largest and deepest-pitched drums in the bateria. The primeira part provides the pulse or rhythmic reference for the entire bateria. It sounds the "2" of the basic "1, 2" rhythm of samba and may also sound pick-up notes to start the music.
The primeira is answered by a slightly smaller and higher-pitched surdo playing a part known as segunda ("second"), resposta ("response"), or respondor ("that which responds"). It is generally played on drums 20" or 22" in diameter. It sounds the "1" of the basic "1, 2" rhythm of samba.The third surdo part, called terceira ("third") or cortador ("cutter" in English), is played on the smallest and highest-pitched surdos, generally between 14" and 18" in diameter. The terceira part consists of more complex patterns that provide fills and syncopations, producing an effect of "cutting" across the basic pulse created by other two surdo parts. Terceira patterns are important drivers of music's "swing" — the feel of the bateria. Terceira players are the only surdo players with room for limited improvisation.
The Tamborim
A tamborim is a small, round Brazilian frame drum of Portuguese and African origin.
About the Tamborim
The frame is 6" in diameter and may be made of abs, aluminum, steel or wood. The head is typically made of nylon and is normally very tightly tuned in order to ensure a high, sharp timbre and a minimum of sustain. The drum is devoid of snares or jingles.
The tamborim is used in many genres of Brazilian music. It is most commonly associated with samba and pagode, but is also used in chorinho, bossa nova, and some northeastern folklore rhythms such as cucumbi.
In most musical styles, the tamborim is played with a short, thin drumstick. In samba-batucada, it is played with a beater made of several flexible nylon or polyacetal threads bound together. On rare occasions, it may be played with the fingers.
The tamborim is held with the weaker hand with the thumb crossing the rim and resting on the drumhead. The other fingers are curled under the rim, with the index typically applying and releasing pressure on the underside of the head to achieve higher or lower notes. The beater is held by the very tip with the strong hand and the head is struck a little off-center. A playing technique called virado is often used, in which the drum is rapidly flipped upside-down to produce ghost notes and syncopated grooves. The instrument may also occasionally be struck on the rim.Tamborim players alternate between repetitive groove patterns and through-composed signature phrases which function as a melody and are easily distinguished above the other percussion instruments.
