Heavy samba percussion instruments description

Questions regarding Samba instruments have been a constant since we started to write about the Brazilian Carnaval.

Trademarks of Drums Section - Baterias de Carnaval

The Carnaval of Brazil is becoming more and more a full-year festivity, with several parties throughout the year.  This may be a good time for lovers of this colorful folklore to learn even more about the world´s largest party. One of the subjects within the samba world that attract the most curiosity is the drummers sections, with all its vibrations, strength and vigor.  Some samba-school drum sections can have up to 300 percussionists, with one general director (Mestre de bateria) and several assistants.

Samba Drumming: The Bateria of Samba

Since the first signs of life, still in our mother’s womb, humans start to exist within rhythms: our own fast heart beats and naturally, of our mothers. Artur da Távola (1936-2008) distinct writer and poet in Brazil once remarked: “the rhythm is definitely the most primitive of our sensorial experiences. Thus, it follows us through our lives and it stands for the basic assumption of vitality, since when it’s over, life has ended.” 

Play yourself a samba school drums section

You might not be able to fly down to Rio for Carnival, but you can hear and feel a “bateria,” a samba school drum section, in this web toy from Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools

 Carnival has been celebrated in Brazil and in Rio de Janeiro for centuries, but samba schools were only first inaugurated in Rio Carnival in the 1920s.