Batucada - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Batucada is a substyle of samba

Samba

Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...

and refers to an African influenced Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian percussive style, usually performed by an ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

, known as a Bateria

Bateria

The term bateria means “drum kit” in Portuguese and Spanish. In Brazil, the word is also used for a form of Brazilian samba band, the percussion band or rhythm section of a Samba School...

. Batucada is characterized by its repetitive style and fast pace.

Instruments

The wide variety of instruments used in a batucada include:

repinique
Repinique
A repinique is a two-headed Brazilian drum used in samba baterias . It is used in the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo Carnival baterias and in the baterias of Bahia, where it is known as repique. It is equivalent to the tom-tom in the non-Brazilian drum kit or to the tenor drum in marching bands...

, a high-pitched tom-tom
Tom-tom drum
A tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...

whose player is traditionally the leader of the ensemble.
surdo
Surdo
For the football player of the same name see Surdu.The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably in Axé/Samba-reggae and samba and its variants, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section....

, a large drum with an average size of 50 cm in diameter. It provides the downbeat, the bass downbeat of the rhythm. When only one surdo is playing, it accentuates the 2nd and 4th beat of every measure. When a second surdo is playing, it is tuned slightly higher and is played accentuating the first and third beats of the measure.
tamborim
Tamborim
A tamborim is a small, round Brazilian frame drum of Portuguese and African origin.The frame is 6" in width and may be made of metal, plastic, or wood. The head is typically made of nylon and is normally very tightly tuned in order to ensure a high, sharp timbre and a minimum of sustain...

, a small drum usually played with a stick or a multi-pronged plastic beater.
bells (agogô
Agogô
An agogô is a single or multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias . The agogô may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African Yoruba single or double bells...

, bongo
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...

, and cowbell)
Chocalo (Ganzá
Ganza
The ganzá is a Brazilian rattle used as a percussion instrument, especially in samba music.The ganzá is cylindrically shaped, and can be either a hand-woven basket or a metal canister which is filled with beads, metal balls, pebbles, or other similar items. Those made from metal produce a...

, Afuche, and Maracas
Maracás
Maracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...

) of various types.
caixa
Caixa
Caixa might mean:*A caixa is a Brazilian snare drum.*La Caixa is the common name of a Spanish bank.**La Caixa, Barcelona, skyscrapes of La Caixa bank.*Caixa Econômica Federal, a large state-owned development Bank in Brazil....

, a thin snare drum.
cuica
Cuíca
Cuíca , or "kweeca", is a Brazilian friction drum often used in samba music. The tone it produces has a high-pitched squeaky timbre. It has been called a 'laughing gourd' due to this sound....

, a single headed drum with a stick mounted inside the drum body, perpendicular to the head. The instrument is played by rubbing a damp cloth along the length of this stick, while pressing the head of the drum with a finger or thumb. The closer to the stick the finger is pressed, the higher the pitch of the sound is produced. The cuica creates a unique sound, which can sometimes sound like a human voice.
timba, a long drum that is used to produce low tones in the ensemble. It is usually played with one hand on the head, and the other beating the body of the drum.
pandeiro
Pandeiro
The pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...

, similar to a tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....

and played elaborately with the hand. Unlike the tambourine, the pandeiro can be tuned.
reco-reco (known in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

as the güiro
Güiro
The güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...

), a usually hollow wooden instrument with a ridged exterior surface that is scraped with a stick.
apito
Apito
thumb|right|200px|The Apito or 'Samba' whistle.Apito is the whistle used in samba music and other Brazilian music styles. In samba a special tri-tone samba whistle and common referee whistles are also used. It is important in organizing and conducting the band. The band leader and the section...

, a small wooden whistle
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...

.

Songs

The song "The Obvious Child" from Paul Simon

Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...

's album The Rhythm of the Saints
The Rhythm of the Saints
The Rhythm of the Saints is the eighth studio album by Paul Simon, released in 1990. Like its predecessor Graceland, the album gained commercial success and received mostly favorable reviews from critics...

is an example of the sound of the samba-Afro style, exemplified by the Bahian group Olodum

Olodum

Olodum is a cultural group based in the Afro Brazilian community of Salvador, the capital city of the state of Bahia, Brazil. It was founded by percussionist, Neguinho do Samba....

.

Also the song "El Matador

El Matador

"Matador" is a song written and sung by Gabriel Julio Fernandez Capello , the lead singer of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, a rock band from Argentina...

" from the Argentinian band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Argentine ska band from Buenos Aires. Formed in 1985, they released their first album, Bares y Fondas in 1986...

is an example of a batucada.

Sérgio Mendes

Sergio Mendes

Sérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk....

and Brazil '66 not only utilized this sound, but also recorded a song by the same name, written by Marcos Valle.

"Kiss of Life", by British electronica band Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires are an English band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008 and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelve for the 2009 Mercury Prize on 21 July 2009.-History:Friendly Fires...

also features a batucada background.

The song "Batucada" from the artist Towa Tei

Towa Tei

is a DJ, artist and record producer in Yokahoma, Japan.Tōwa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the U.S. label Elektra Records in 1990, and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart"...

performed by Bebel Gilberto

Bebel Gilberto

Bebel Gilberto is a Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque...

combines the style of Batucada with the sound of synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

Famous Performers

Ilê Aiyê
Trokobloco
Olodum
Malê Debalê
Muzenza
Timbalada
Ara Ketu
Badauê
Swing do Pelo

External links

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