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Pictures and text by Alaor
Soares. |
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SURDO
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The Surdo is the largest of the batucadas
instruments. The Surdo is the ‘base drum’ in the Brazilian music.
There are different sizes of Surdos, from 14” x 45cm up to 28” x
60cm in both wood and aluminium. The main function of the Surdo is
to maintain the rhythm. For some rhythms one drumstick is used and
for other rhythms two drumsticks are used. Generally, one group uses
three different sizes of Surdos: large (24”), medium (22”) and small
(18” or 20”). Each size has its own function, large and medium play
the first and second beat of the rhythm and the small is used for
the rest. |
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REPINIQUE
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The Repinique is a metal drum with a very loud sound. This is ‘the
leader’ in the batucada where it is used to start and finish the
rhythm. It is mostly used for samba batucada and samba reggae.
Depending on the rhythm, a wooden drumstick is used (samba batucada)
or two plastic drumsticks (samba reggae). The Repinique can be found
both in aluminium and in wood and there are sizes from 8”x 25cm (bacurinha)
to 12”x 30cm. |
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CAIXA
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The Caixa is similar to a snare drum but is much lighter in weight (keep
in mind that the Brazilian music is played in the streets so the
musicians have to carry them). Caixas ‘control’ the groove. Most
often, the Caixa is an aluminium drum and is found in different
sizes: from 12”x 6cm to 14”x 15cm. A very special Caixa is ‘the
Malacachetaen’ (12”x 20cm) which is used in the samba batucada where
the musician plays on the ‘snare’ side and the drum is held against
the shoulder. |
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TAMBORIM
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The Tamborim is a small drum (6”) that is tuned very loudly. The
Tamborim creates the setting and always plays in sections, meaning
that there is more than one instrument pr. group. The function of
the Tamborim can be compared to the wind instruments in a big band.
They bring colour and abundance to the batucada. In the slow samba
one wooden drumstick is used, and in the samba batucada a plastic
drumstick is used together with many fingers. The most exiting
tamborim rhythm is the ‘tamborim virado’, which is played by
Sambistas during the carnival in Rio de Janeiro. |
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AGOGO
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The Agogo (or cowbell) can be found with 2, 3, 4 or 5 bells. The
most common is the double. It is used in many Brazilian rhythms and
has a strong connection to religious music. It brings melody to the
batucada and the most famous Agogo piece is from ‘The Impero Serrano
Samba School’. |
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CHOCALHO
OR GANZA
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Chocalho or Ganz, together with the Caixa these function as the
connection between the Surdo and other instruments. Their sound is
reminiscent of a ‘hi-hat’ on a drum set. In Brazil, the samba
schools use the Chocalhos because the sound is higher. Normally, the
Chocalhos are in the first row in the parades, they make up the
front line together with the Pandeiro and the Cuica. In most cases,
the musician has to play the instrument as well as learn the
choreography that is made especially for the Chocalhos’. |
