Types of Samba:
Batucada
The driving rhythm of the carnaval, Samba batucada
is typical of carnaval street music in Rio de Janeiro. Batucada
is fast and lively with a swing!
Samba Reggae
Made popular by Olodum, one of the best known
samba bands, samba reggae is characterised by an 'off beat'
played by the caixa (snare drum) and is simple for us 'gringos'
to play! The rythmical basis comes from Jamaican reggae music.
Samba Cancao
Samba Cancao (Song Samba) is, not surprisingly,
primarily about melody, but can be performed by one person
or many. It is prodominantly played at a lower or quieter
dynamic than its batucada cousin.
Pagode Samba
In Brazil, the word pagode is used to describe
a type of party 'with food and drinks and an air of intimacy'.
In any good party uplifting music is a must – and so
then samba is a natural choice. Samba transformed pagode into
one of the strongest traditions in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro.
A backyard with a few trees to provide the shade, some packs
of beer, a tan tan (bass drum played with hands which replaces
the surdo), a cavaquinho (a tiny, four-string acoustic guitar),
nylon string guitars, and a whole range of other small percussion
instruments (including matches and cultery) make up the perfect
setting for singers and instrumentalists to show off their
skills. Passers-by join in the samba to dance, drink, and
let the afternoon go into the evening and the evening into
the night.
Maracatu
'The beat that keeps one eye in the past and
another in the future'
According to historian Leonardo Dantas, in order to coordinate
the management of Africans brought to Brazil as slaves on
the first half of the 16th century, Portuguese settlers encouraged
the institution of black kings and queens protected by catholic
fraternities. The coronation pageants are believed to have
originated maracatu's frolic music. Slavery abolition
(in 1888) caused the disappearance of the King of the Congo
(Muchino Ri· Congo) and the maracatus were turned into
music groups, parading on holidays and in Carnival.
Afoxé
Originates in Bahia, and is a name for two things:
a social and religious group that parades during carnival,
and a rhythm used in these street parades and in ceremonies
for the orixas (a shaker instrument - beads on a small gourd
that is shaken by its thin neck).
There are three atabaque (or conga) parts, two bell parts,
surdo, and shaker. There are other instruments added as well,
such as berimbau. It's a laid-back kind of a rhythm, not as
frantic or intense as some of the other Brazilian ones.
AxÈ
This is not exactly about a style or musical
movement, but rather about a useful brand name given to artists
from Salvador (Bahia, NE) who made music upon northeastern
Brazilian, Caribbean and African rhythms with a pop-rock twist,
which helped them take over the Brazilian hit parades since
1992. Axé is a ritual greeting used in Candomblé
and Umbanda (African-Brazilian religions), and means "good
vibration". The word music was attached to Axé
- used as slang within the local music biz - by a journalist
who intended to create a derogatory term for the pretentious
dance-driven style.
ForrÛ
A form of dance music that is extremely popular
in, among other places, the amazon basin (e.g. Manaus) and
includes three instruments: zabumba (large bass-drum type
instrument), triangle and (here I must confess ignorance of
the name) a squeeze-box, accordion-type instrument that plays
the gorgeous melodies. The triangle pattern typically mimics
a samba shaker or tamborim pattern using open notes on the
downbeat, and the second and fourth sixteenth notes plus a
closed note on the third sixteenth. The zabumba provides the
pulse, typically a three note pattern per bar - one, the and
of two and four (if it is in 4/4). It is generally fast and
makes people crazy. Legend has it that it came from a bastardization
of the English words "for all".
Capoeira
A martial arts/dance form developed by the slaves
and incorporating its own musical style with the berimbau,
pandeiro and atubaque as the main instruments, capoeira is
a symbol of freedom and is very graceful to watch. Wellington
has its own caporeira group called Capoeira
Pacifica, which often performs with Wellington Batucada
in street parades and stage performances. To find out more
about Capoeira Pacifica
contact steve on (021) 131 7095 or email him at tastyproductions@paradise.net.nz
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