is banjo used in samba music?
Tom Niesytto
Is there some reference (book/website) about banjo
and/or cavaquinho in samba music? Any recommended
recordings? I understand that cavaquinho is tuned
the same as tenor banjo - are brazilian banjos
different from traditional tenor banjos?
Thanks,
JT
Gerry
Niesytto <wola...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Cavaquinho: I don't know that there is much info via book/websites.
There are a few; logically they are published in Portugues out of
Brazil. Henrique Cazes as a couple. I'm not sure what kind of reference
you're looking for. Cazes and Waldir Azevedo are names to know and
pursue. But they are both much larger than the instrument, which in
the hands of most journeymen players is not a single-string, melodic
aspect, but strictly rhythm.
Banjito: I saw two guys playing in small samba bands in Rio 12 or so
years ago that both played a mini/mando-banjo or some such. These were
very small, had 4 strings and were tuned (in the one case where I
chatted with the player) like a cavaquinho. I visually verified the
other as being tuned the same way.
Most recordings by the great sambistas will have cavaquinho on it, if
your interested in audio clues to it's use. Beth Carvalho, Martinho da
Vila, Grupo Fundo de Quintal and myriad othes can almost always be
counted on for good recordings and will usually have cavaco on them.
There are hundreds more artists--it's a pretty big style--and many
thousands of recordings. There's much to survey.
Regarding the way Brazilian's play banjo, it is not an instrument I've
encountered in Brazilian music. Undoubtedly it can be found somewhere,
but I think it's relevance insignificant.
--
First they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only
care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy.
-- Gail Collins
Daniella Thompson
> Is there some reference (book/website) about banjo
> and/or cavaquinho in samba music?
Cavaqinho is a very popular isntrument in traditional samba and choro.
Just google around and you'll find plenty of references.
Banjo is more common in pagode (cavaquinho is also played in pagode).
Here's a website that provides chords for both banjo and cavaquinho in
pagode and samba:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/2924/cifras.htm
--
Daniella
_______
Daniella Thompson on Brazil:
The Magazine of
Brazilian Music & Culture
http://daniv.blogspot.com
Musica Brasiliensis
http://brazzil.com/daniv
Jim Braun
Gerry wrote:
> Regarding the way Brazilian's play banjo, it is not an instrument I've
> encountered in Brazilian music. Undoubtedly it can be found somewhere,
> but I think it's relevance insignificant.
It's definitely relevant in the carimbó of Pará; see
http://www.culturebase.net/artist.php?244 :
"Augusto Gomes Rodrigues, known as Verequete, is now 85 years old and
is the grand old master of the carimbó, the local dance-music from the
eastern region of the Amazon. As dance and music, the carimbó stems
from the interior of the Brazilian state Pará, especially in the region
round the mouth of the Amazon and on the island Marajó. In the 60s
Verequete took this traditional style with African features out of the
backwoods into Belém, the main city in Pará, and modernised the ensemble
by adding the banjo, which is now obligatory, and wind instruments like
the clarinet and saxophone."
Tom Niesytto
I probably should have explained - I did not expect the 5-string
hee-haw banjos to be played to samba beat - although some of such
cross-cultural experiments can yield awesome result - local samba
band here in Austin recorded a GREAT album with local Scottish bagpipe
band (Sambaxe and Silver Thistle).
But since tenor banjo is tuned similar to cavaquinho and is rather
loud rhythm instrument I thought it would be a natural candidate
to play along drum heavy samba bands.
I will check the names that you mentioned.
JT
Gerry <222...@spam.really.sucks> wrote in message news:<250620041343471543%222...@spam.really.sucks>...
Tom Niesytto
do you know about any website or book where I can find
some information about lineup of typical samba band
(Rio and Bahia), the role different drum serve in the band
and some transcriptions/analysis of typical rhthmic patterns?
JT
da...@brazzil.com (Daniella Thompson) wrote in message news:<7e1925c5.04062...@posting.google.com>...
Gerry
<jimb...@hevanet.com> wrote:
I was right--it can be found somewhere! :-) I think relatively
insignificant to the big picture of Brazilian music is still valid.
Though this certainly sounds interesting It's my first encounter with
it.
Gerry
Niesytto <wola...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I probably should have explained - I did not expect the 5-string
> hee-haw banjos to be played to samba beat - although some of such
> cross-cultural experiments can yield awesome result - local samba
> band here in Austin recorded a GREAT album with local Scottish bagpipe
> band (Sambaxe and Silver Thistle).
> But since tenor banjo is tuned similar to cavaquinho and is rather
> loud rhythm instrument I thought it would be a natural candidate
> to play along drum heavy samba bands.
I'm sure that's true. And I'm positive that's why the mini/mando-banjo
is used by the cavaquinhistas--for louder settings.
I assume that since it's the cavaquinho that's being swapped out for
such usage, the logical transition would be to a cavaquinho with skin
head and resonator, rather than changing over to a tenor banjo which is
far deeper in tone.
> I will check the names that you mentioned.
Are you a banjo player? If you're new to samba/cavaquinho, but have a
background that encompasses Unitedstatesian country and/or bluegrass
musics you should certainly get wise to Jaco do Bandolim as well as
other choro-dominant songs and performers.
Though the instruments might be the entree across styles the musics
themselves have a lot in common. I've encountered more country-music
follk appreciating choro than samba. Samba seems too butt-shaky for
their approach rather than head-shaky. Choro is more head-shaky and
that seems to help overlap.
Just a guess, no offense intended to head-shakers, etymologists or
others.
Mestre
busking pagode four piece in Rio. A large cabasa, rebolo, pandeiro and a
short knecked ukulele banjo.
Although personally I think the best sound a banjo can make is splosh.
Mick
mestre Bloco do Sul. UK
"Tom Niesytto" <wola...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:694461f6.04062...@posting.google.com...
Hermes
Hi,
The "banjo-cavaquinho" is largely used in pagodes as a replacement to the
cavaquinho. The main reason to do that is the far louder sound that
comes out of the banjo than that of the cavaco. When you get together
in a backyard with a bunch of friends playing percussion and singing,
the cavaco is easily overwhelmed. So the banjo is a must if the harmony
is to be heard without amplifiers.
Here are some banjo models by Rozini, one of the most popular
cavaco brands in Brazil:
http://www.rozini.com.br/banjo.htm
You can see it in use on the "Jorge Aragão - Ao vivo convida" DVD.
I strongly recommend that DVD, I never got tired of watching it!
Jorge Aragão is one of the great sambistas. He used to be just a
composer of some great sambas but recently decided to become
also a singer. And what a great voice! He plays the banjo-cavaquinho
in some tracks.
http://somlivre.globo.com/ProdutoDVD.asp?ProductID=081522&pub_int=1793
The tuning I use in my cavaco is D-G-B-D, an open G chord. There
are different tunings. I heard of D-G-B-E, which equals the bottom chords
of the guitar, one octave higher.
I have seen some videos with cavaquinho courses. All in Portuguese.
Haven't seen any in English.
Cheers,
-H
Tom Niesytto
Thanks Hermes,
I will definitely check the DVD. How is the quality of the Rozini
brand -
I have seen some cavaquinhos by them on different websites eg:
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y03Y6613318Y0384989/104-2148005-4491950
What about the quality of their banjos?
Have you ever heard about brand called Malagoli?
http://www.malagoli.com.br/index.htm
I play guitar and my first contact with Brazilian music was with
bossa-nova
in movie "Black Orpheus" (the original one - 1959 with Bonfa's music).
I started listening to samba (as played during carnival) only recently
so I
am still not very familiar with pagode. There is a band here in
Austin, Texas
that plays batucada samba and I may start playing caixa with them. But
I
thought it would be a neat idea to play some samba riffs on banjo with
some people I occasionally drum with. PLus I love traditional jazz so
tenor banjo seems like an ideal instrument to learn.
Cheers,
JT
Hermes
>
> I will definitely check the DVD.
I also recommend that you check Zeca Pagodinho, the current
pagode king in Brazil. His CD "Acustico MTV" is just fantastic!
Be aware that there is a lot of pagode junk that came out in the
90s. Dozens of pagode groups saw the music market as their
way into some fast money and composed many many
cheesy pagodes that, in a way, made pagode distasteful to many
Brazilians. Even the word "pagode" for quite a while was sinonym
to "poor quality samba".
> How is the quality of the Rozini
> brand -
The cavaco I have is the cheapest one I found in my trip to Brazil
last year and it is not bad: I paid $60 for it, including the soft case,
but it doesn't have a pick. I have seen good Rozinis, better than
mine, so I assume that if you pay something around $120 for it
you should get a reasonably good one. If you include an electric
pick the price will be of course higher. I heard of a guy here in the
Bay Area that installs a pick for $100.
> I have seen some cavaquinhos by them on different websites eg:
>
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y03Y6613318Y0384989/104-2148005-4491950
>
> What about the quality of their banjos?
I have seen two Rozini banjos and the are pretty good.
> Have you ever heard about brand called Malagoli?
> http://www.malagoli.com.br/index.htm
It rings a bell, but I haven't seen any instrument made by them.
The best cavacos I know are hand made, but probably that's out
of your reach.
>
> I play guitar and my first contact with Brazilian music was with
> bossa-nova
> in movie "Black Orpheus" (the original one - 1959 with Bonfa's music).
A great start.
> I started listening to samba (as played during carnival) only recently
> so I
Carnaval's samba is mostly of two kinds: samba enredo (played by the
samba schools during the Carnaval parades), fast paced energetic tunes
that usually are not remembered after carnaval (except for some of them
that become classics), and the marchas. The marchas are a whole
bunch of short songs that are traditional and everybody knows dozens
of them in Brazil; they were mostly composed in the 30s, 40s, 50s, not
really sure. They are usually played in indoors carnaval balls or other
events
like new year's day parties. Their rhythm, IMO is a mix of samba and
some military caixa patterns. There is a range of marcha paces, from
very slow to fast.
You don't usually listen to sambas enredos and carnaval marchas
out of carnaval time in Brazil. The sambas you hear in the other 361
days of the year are more like the pagodes we are talking about.
And of course the Bossa Nova, which is a kind of samba.
To me it is not clear that pagode is a rhythm by itself; IMO it is more
a social event than a rhythm: a bunch of friends playing samba in
a backyard. Listen to Clara Nunes, Beth Carvalho, Leci Brandão,
Jorge Aragão and Zeca Pagodinho and you'll get a good picture
of non-carnaval samba. Chico Buarque (IMO the greatest Brazilian
composer ever) also has some great sambas. And marchas.
> am still not very familiar with pagode. There is a band here in
> Austin, Texas
> that plays batucada samba and I may start playing caixa with them. But
> I
> thought it would be a neat idea to play some samba riffs on banjo with
> some people I occasionally drum with. PLus I love traditional jazz so
> tenor banjo seems like an ideal instrument to learn.
It is fun if you play songs that most people know. You have to check
the background of the group to find out what samba songs are
their favorites. Usually that won't work if there is no Brazilian in
the group and you'll end up playing "Satisfaction" in samba style :)
>
> Cheers,
>
> JT