Brazilian Drum Band
Griselda Humbarger
A samba band normally consists of Tamborims, Snare drums (Caixa), Agogo bells, Surdos, Ganzs / Chocalho (shakers), Cuca, Timbal, Pandeiro, and the Repinique. The band leader often carries a Repinique, as well as using Apitos (whistles) to signal breaks and calls. Other instruments have been added in many samba bands such as frigideira, cavaquinho 4 stringed guitars, 7 stringed guitars and a small brass section (trumpets and trombones). As a general rule in Brazil, a samba band must have a group of a minimum of 8 singers with one lead singer to provide the vocal harmony needed to sing the samba-enredo and other forms of samba music.
In America, bands traditionally play Samba (carnival rhythms of the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro). In other countries they now play reggae, funk, hip hop and Brazilian folk music. Like other drumming bands the music exceeds 130 decibels but often this attracts listeners. Some samba bands have eccentric costumes whilst others have costumes themed around their religions/ animals.
Thousands of bands have been formed in countries outside Brazil. These often appear in schools but many are run by samba organisations. They are a good form of music education as they do not require music reading as the music is recalled aurally.
I chose to try samba drumming as it seemed like the perfect pick-me-up activity to counter the monotony of everyday life. It has it all: excitement, awe and a sort of childlike amusement. But trying it actually taught me a lot about myself, my attitude and my tolerance for mistakes. I would even go as far as to say that samba drumming is the Challenge Yourself activity par excellence.
Our teacher is Laslo Rivera, the director of Munich-based samba band and school Via-Jante. He recommends I pick up a surdo, a large bass drum, as the best instrument to begin with. I learn that smaller drums like the caixa or the repinique are characterised by a much higher pitch, and therefore have more prominent roles in the band, with the repinique leading the entire bateria (samba ensemble). Other instruments typically used by a bateria include rattles and shakers, bells and several types of hand drums.
Needless to say, the task is not easy. All it takes is for my stroke to be half a second too early or too late to get out of sync, though my feet help me stay in tune with the others. And when I focus too much on timing the drum strokes, I forget the rest of my beat, and get out of sync again. It gets frustrating.
Another samba band offers me a unique opportunity: take a class with them, then join their group in performing at a street festival. That way, I get to experience the interaction with the audience, which is an important component of samba drumming. After much deliberation, and despite my stage fright, I reluctantly accept.
My teacher encourages me to at least give it a try: play one set with them, and see how I feel. And as Uniao do Samba sets up their giant papier mch puppet, Luana, I decide to go for it. In a few minutes, I am wearing their colours, the surdo tied to my hips, and off I go.
I was so pleased to find this photograph of Mr. Feynman drumming. It is from the blog of ra mcguire, singer songwriter with the well-known band Trooper, who claims Richard Feynman as one of his heroes.
Fogo Azul NYC is the brain-child of Stacy Kovacs, and is an all-female drumline, marching band, samba band, Brazilian band, and much more. Kovacs was formerly the founder of the New York contingent of Batala, which dissolved in 2016 and has been rebranded as Fogo Azul.
It proved to be a great experience and Batala NYC (the New York-based Batala band) at one point grew to 85 women! With the group I was able to travel to Brazil four times to play in Carnival. For five straight years, Batala NYC continued to play at more and more events. We became known as a party band, a wedding band, and an event band for all types of events. It was a great run.
I have come to north-east Brazil for 6 weeks of drumming, music-watching, beach-lying and carnavalling, and in particular to see a culture of music and dance out of Africa that has stayed close to its roots. Unlike folkloric music from elsewhere in Brazil, such as samba which fuses African rhythms with more typically European musical elements, you can hear the African purity in the unaccompanied rhythm and voices of maracatu in Pernambuco.
Our first Saturday night in Recife was a tad disappointing, having left the hostel anticipating a party spirit on the streets and live music in every bar, it felt a little understated and flat with very little live music to be heard besides the frevo. However, on Sunday afternoon we were advised that a band called Grupo Bongar were performing in Praca do Arsenal in the old town, so we set off for the centre again with renewed hope.
Forro is a type of music from the countryside of north-east Brazil. It accompanies a dance for couples, where the man and woman dance in very close proximity while stepping on beats 3, 4 and 1. There is some variation in the tempo and style played by the zambumba (bass drum), large triangle and accordion with mainly lydian and mixolydian mode songs. Baiao is the original style of forro, but they also play coco (my favourite), a slower style called xote and the fastest, arrasta-pe.
Over the next week and a half we tracked down rehearsals for Nacao do Porto Rico (with many of the same players as Encanto do Pina), saw the famous Nana Vasconcelos rehearse on a timpani (kettle drum) with Nacao Estrela Brilhante do Recife and Nacao Almirante de Forte. At one Saturday night rehearsal in Pina, we saw Porto Rico rehearsing with Nana Vasconcelos and his female singers on the street, and afterwards rehearsing their own set. At about 10pm we spotted a tiny little boy, who could have been no older than 3 years old, playing a miniature alfaia while looking incredibly non-chalant and sleepy. He was playing exactly the arrangement in perfect sync with his older band members. Truly mind-blowing!
Now we are back near Recife, in a historic town called Olinda, to learn some maracatu dancing and drumming with the Mestres of Nacao Camaleao and Nacao Pernambuco and take part in carnaval. Watch out for my next blog entry to see how we get on!
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Point Park students from across the U.S. and around the globe welcomed spring at a colorful, flavorful - and very loud - celebration that had Lawrence Hall lobby hopping to the rhythms of a Brazilian drum band.
This year's Global Festival Celebration, held March 19 by the Office of International Student Services and Enrollment, featured foods and crafts from Brazil, China, India, Israel and Sri Lanka, all to celebrate the end of winter and return of spring.
"After the winter we have had, nothing says spring more than a party," said Rebecca Lee, ISSE director. "It's like we bring in the fresh air with great music, some wonderful dishes to sample and good friends to laugh with. It is the same recipe for a good party all over the world -- it's another way to show we are all connected."
Point Park has 158 international students from 36 countries, attracted by the University's small size, wide variety of academic programs, and urban location in Downtown Pittsburgh, a world-class city.
At this year's celebration, international students and U.S. students sampled foods spring rolls from China, samosas and pekora from India, kiri bath and chutney from Sri Lanka, and hummus with bread from Turkey.
International student Shayna Mendez, a sophomore photojournalism major from Jamaica, helped put on the event, manning the Chinese table as students sampled spring rolls. She found time to try a few crafts and taste some of the international treats.
For Mendez, the highlight was the performance by Timbeleza, a Pittsburgh band that specializes in Brazilian percussion music - and encourages audience participation. Students stepped right out to dance to the rhythms.
"We saw a glimpse of two different cultures and at the same time how seamlessly the students - both international and non international - enjoyed the performances and were able to walk away with a better understanding of both," she said.
A few weeks ago, I was drumming for some revellers. Victorious Festival was in full flow in Southsea. The sun was out and spirits were high. This is a hometown gig and always a banger (never apologising for that pun) so our band was an army. We played several gigs across the weekend, growing rowdier as the days wore on. By the time we spread our usual rows of drummers into a circle and invited the crowds into our collective beating heart, everyone was ready to be swallowed by the party. Glitter-strewn festivalgoers were dancing like their lives depended on it and the conga line lapped itself. Sweat dripping into my eyes, shouldering past over-exuberant air-drummers and unable to see our caller for the forest of arms in the air. It was glorious. We drum for the people who go home feeling like part of a moment in time.
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