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The
Bateria of Capoeira
 Capoeira
uses
many percussion
instruments, including berimbau, the pandeiro, and the atabaque. All
the
instruments together make up the bateria
(band) of Capoeira. These instruments are accompanied by singing and
sometimes clapping. The amount of instruments and the order they are
in vary from school to school, but in general...
Capoeira Angola
(traditional form of Capoeira) uses the following instruments in
order from left to right (if you are facing the bateria):
Recô-recô
(optional), agôgô, pandeiro,
3 berimbaus, pandeiro
(optional), atabaque,
no clapping.
Traditionally, Capoeira Regional
(style originating in the 1930s) uses only: Pandeiro,
1 berimbau, pandeiro, people
in the circle clap but, most schools nowadays
keep the same bateria for Angola and
Regional.
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Instruments
 Berimbau
The most important instrument in Capoeira
is the Berimbau. The
style and speed of the play is decided by the tune/rhythm (toque),
which is being played at the time. The berimbau is one of the
oldest string instruments in the world, and was brought to Brazil
by the African slaves. It's made of a piece of wood (verga/pau)
about a metre and a half long (alot of people use bamboo, but the
proper wood to use is biriba
from Brazil). The wood is bent
into an arc, and a wire (arame),
traditionally animal
intestines, but now usually wire from the inside of a car tyre, is
attached to both ends to make a kind of bow. A specially prepared
gourd (cabaça) is
fitted to one end to act as a
resonator (it makes the sound louder). The berimbau player holds
the bow in one hand, and hits the string with a small stick about
30 cm long (vaqueta) with
the other hand, which also holds a
small shaker (caxixi).
Different notes are produced by
pressing a big coin or stone (dobrão)
against the wire.
The berimbau plays three notes: open,
closed and "buzz."
The open note is made by just hitting the arame
without pressing the dobrão or pedra against it, making a
low tone. The closed note is a higher pitch, and is made when the
dobrão or pedra is pressed against the arame. The
buzz note is when the dobrão or pedra is touching the arame,
but not pushing in. Other effects include moving the cabaça
towards or away from the player's stomach, making the "wah-wah"
noise, and using the caxixi.
In Capoeira Angola three types of berimbau are used: Gunga or bass berimbau plays the
base rhythm (usually played by the master of the roda), the Médio or middle-pitched
berimbau plays the base rhythm with variations, and the Viola or highest pitched
berimbau
improvises with the rhythm.
The berimbau is used in Capoeira
and Samba de Roda, and
although it has
been used in other types of music (the Brazilian heavy metal
group Sepultura uses it sometimes), many people say that you can't
have Capoeira without a berimbau, and you can't have a berimbau
without Capoeira. [Top]
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 Pandeiro
The Pandeiro
is a
Portuguese
tambourine with a skin and flat
jingles (the little cymbals that go around the side). It is the
second most important instrument in Capoeira. If you are only going
to have two instruments for Capoeira they should be a berimbau and
a pandeiro.
The pandeiro is almost a hand held drumset because it can make hihat,
snare, and kick sounds. The bass note is made by hitting the skin
close to the rim in a "bouncy" way so that the sound isn't
dampened. This is usually done with the thumb, but you can also use
your finger tips. The other main sound is the slap which is an open
handed slap to the centre of the skin. Please don't hit the skin
too hard! You can wreck the instrument like that and it's not
necessary. Getting this sound is all about technique, which a Capoeira
teacher or Pandeiro player can show you.
Besides these sounds, you can make the jingles sound in a variety of
different ways. One way is hitting the skin with your finger tips
(but not making the low tone). Other ways involve moving the
pandeiro itself without hitting it.
The pandeiro is commonly used in other Brazilian music, Samba, Forró, Samba-Reggae,
even Funk. It is a very
versatile
instrument, capable
of amazing rhythms. Some people even juggle them and spin them on
their fingers, but if you want to try that, make sure it's your
pandeiro, and it has a soft landing place if you drop it. Even if it
doesn't break, it can get bent and warped, which makes it harder
to juggle, and more importantly can change its sound. [Top]
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 Atabaque
The Atabaque
is a tall
standing drum similar to a conga made of
long strips of wood joined side by side to each other, and covered
at the end by animal skin that is tied on with rope. The other end
is not covered. The atabaque plays a similar beat to the pandeiro,
and follows its rhythm.
The most basic way to play it uses only two different sounds, the
low tone and the slap. The slap is sort of similar to the pandeiro
slap (you slap the centre of the skin with a similar technique).
The low tone is made by hitting the skin near the rim like with the
pandeiro, but you hit it with the base of your fingers instead of
the thumb or finger tips, and you use both hands.
The atabaque is used in Capoeira,
Samba de Roda, Maculêlê (Brazilian folk
dance with sticks or cane knives/machetes, which in
modern times is practised by many Capoeira schools), and religious
ceremonies of Candomblé and
Macumba. It
was because of
its religious use that Mestre
Bimba
did not include the atabaque in his Capoeira
Regional.
There are three types
of atabaque which can be used together and are called (from biggest
to smallest): rum, rum-pi
and le. In Capoeira only
one atabaque is
used. [Top] |
 Agôgô
The agôgô is
an
African double-headed bell. One of the
bells is high pitched, and the other one is lower. It is played by
hitting the bells with a small stick, following the pandeiro
rhythm. There is also a clicking sound you
can make with the Agôgô by squeezing it, so that the
two bells hit eachother.
The agôgô is used in Samba
and Capoeira,
as
well as other
forms of popular music and Afro-Brazilian religious ceremonies. [Top] |
 Recô-recô
The recô-recô
is a
scraper which sounds similar to the
guiro used in Cuban music. It is usually a section of a large piece
of bamboo with notches cut into one side. The player slides a thin
stick over the lines to make the rhythm, which is also similar to
the pandeiro rhythm.
The recô-recô is also used in Samba, where it can be made out
of
metal with springs instead of the notches. In some regions
of Brazil the reco-reco is known as 'reso-reso',
'raspador' or 'casaca'.
Of all
the
instruments in the Capoeira bateria, the recô-recô is the
least commonly used. [Top] |
 Handclaps
People in the roda who are not playing in
the middle or playing
instruments can
clap their hands. The way this is done varies from school to
school, but in our school, there is no clapping in Capoeira Angola,
and there are two variations of Regional clap that are both used
(although not simultaneously). [Top] |
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