Cuica

Cuíca, or "kuweeca", is a Brazilian friction drum with a large pitch range, produced by changing tension on the head of the drum. Cuíca is Portuguese for a type of small opossum which is known to make a high-pitched sound. It is most 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.

Pearl Brazilian percussion instruments

Pearl Brazilian Percussion captures the sound and excitement of traditional Samba drums while offering Pearl innovations and versatility. The 10 unique Brazilian Percussion instruments can easily be added to your kit to augment your sonic capabilities and add a distinct sound to your ensemble or solo playing.

iSamba - Samba music instruments app

With iSamba, you know the sound of each of the main instruments of the battery of a samba school! Listen and play the Pandeiro, the Surdo, the Caixa de Guerra, the Tamborim, the Reco reco, the Cavaco or Cavaquinho the Agogô the Cuíca and Chocalho!

Heavy samba percussion instruments description

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

Brazilian Percussion - Ensemble Jam

Pearl Percussionist Rafael Pereira demonstrates the new Brazilian line of instruments.

Agogo and pandeiro demo

Brazilian percussionist, Julio Cesar Hagen Pimentel performs on agogo bells and pandeiro.

Monobloco

The percussion group Monobloco, renowned for incorporating diverse rhythms and musical styles to a samba beat, was created in 2000 by the components of the band Pedro Luís e A Parede, also known as PLAP - Pedro Luís (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars), Mário Moura (bass guitar), C.A. Ferrari, Sidon Silva and Celso Alvim (drums and percussion). Today, Monobloco is among the Brazilian acts with the greatest number of performances all year round.

Monobloco - 10 (DVD)

Monobloco live concert, recorded on the DVD "10" (2009). Here you can see it in several videos.

Pandeiro rhythms (I)

Five Brazilian pandeiro rhythms: baiao, calango, frevo, maracatú and samba.

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.

Brazilian samba instruments

As with many Latin American rhythms and music genres, the Samba began its rise to popularity through the influence of African drumming. As a product of the slave trade and its European occupation, the influence of the integration of native rhythms, songs and instruments within the music of Brazil created the popular Samba sound that continues to be a favorite among ballroom dancers, Carnivale participants and fans of Latin and World Music.