What is Samba

Samba is the rhythm of Brazil, an infectious musical style that emerged from
African rhythms brought by the slaves Rio de Janeiro.
The unquestioned heart and soul of Rio is Samba, its birthplace. Developed in
Escolas de Samba (Samba Schools), samba is inseparable from the Carnaval and
the samba schools compete fiercely in it each year to win the coveted first place.
Samba is truly the 'popular art' of the people, and samba schools are important
social structures in a world, which can be very uncertain if you are not wealthy.
They are inclusive and everyone has a place.
Samba music is in 2/4 time (in two) with a high bass drum beat on the first beat, a
lower foundation beat on the second beat, and highly syncopated rhythms played
over the top. A bateria plays the rhythmical part, while melody instruments and
singers play the tunes.
Samba is a way of life in Brazil, and is gaining huge popularity throughout the
world.
Batucada

The simple definition of Batucada would be a percussion jam session, but that
doesn't begin to describe the awesome power a tight ensemble is capable of
producing. Percussion is the bare bones of Samba, but the larger Bateria
(percussion group) ensembles within the Samba Schools make breathtakingly
complex walls of sound. The throbbing heartbeat of the surdo drum (somewhere
between a bass drum and a tom-tom) underpins rattling snares, layers of hand-held
percussion instruments such as agogos (bells), ganzas (metal tubes filled with
beads that you shake), tambourims (a bit like small tamborines which you hit with
a split stick), and the panting, surreal shrieks and moans of the cuica, a friction
drum.
Samba Schools

Samba (Samba Schools)

A social, cultural, and club group that meets regularly and frequently with the
purpose of learning and performing Brazilian samba dance, music, and costumes.
It is a family organization that hands samba and Brazilian culture down from
generation to generation with the main goal of performing spectacular carnival
parades during carnival each year (occurring during the Lent season).
Samba Schools

The driving force of the groups is the 'bateria'. This is an array of drummers and
other percussionists led by a director, or maestre, who conducts and signals with
whistles the various breaks, solos, whoops and hollers which can all add up to a
delicious assault on the senses.
Enredo
The theme of a samba parade. These are usually lofty, poetic descriptions of a
subject that interests Brazilians such as politics, the environment, a famous
person, etc.
Carnival
The relationship between Samba and Brazil's huge Carnaval festivals is a byword.
The word "Carnaval" is derived from the Latin and refers to the penitential
renunciation of meat and other robust pleasures during Lent. Catholic and Yorubabased African rituals co-exist amicably in Brazil, but the ancient Christian tradition
of modestly indulging the senses prior to forty days of fasting and penance
somehow got just a bit out of hand. At Carnaval time, Christianity bides its time
until contrition sets in, and the hung-over masses totter off to make their no doubt
astounding confessions before Easter.
The Rio de Janeiro Carnaval is the world's biggest and rowdiest party and must be
experienced to be believed, but has become rampantly commercial over the years.
Nonetheless, a head-on encounter with a Desfile (Samba School on parade) is like
being engulfed by a conquering army of total strangers who really want to make
friends! To get an idea of what the Rio Carnaval was like before its present
incarnation, the film "Orfeo Negro" (Black Orpheus) is widely available for home
viewing.
Samba Instruments
There are samba instruments in such various forms, shapes, and sizes, and
more importantly, difficulty.
Repinique
Created by samba schools to make a high, piercing
sound. It is also used as a calling (lead) and solo
instrument in the samba school bateria (percussion
band). In samba it is played with a stick in the right
hand, with the left hand beating counterpoint directly on
the drum head, or vice-versa. It is played together with
the tamborins in a galloping rhythm.

Surdo
Surdos are the heartbeat of percussion samba. With
their deep bass sound, surdos are used to mark time
and provide a steady beat that acts as a foundation for
the accompanying rhythms. There are three kinds of
surdos: first, second, and cutting (or third). The surdo is
the heart of the samba school baterias, but is also used
in frevo, samba reggae and axe music.

Agogo
Made of iron and steel, they are used in samba and its
offshoots. The sound is made by striking a stick against
the instrument's two bells, producing a high and low tone.

Caixa
Made of wood or metal, the caixa has a cylindrical shape
and a head on both sides. The traditional caixa was tuned
with a system of strings, and the current ones with a
metal rod tightened with butterfly nuts, and has a snare
on the bottom side, that is, the response head.

Tambourim
A small hand-held drum with a high, piercing
sound, played either with a wooden stick (in
traditional samba, where a rhythm called
telecoteco is often played) or with a three, four, or
five-pronged plastic beater (in the samba schools,
where there is usually a large group of players).