Music in Capoeira
Posted in
Music
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Thursday, June 23, 2011|By
mayavfx
Music in Capoeira
Play the Music, Play the Game
If you have ever seen a capoeira roda you might have noticed that there is a certain energy coming out of it, and it all starts from the music. The music is in capoeira determines what type of game you play inside the roda and without it you would feel very lost. Without music there is no game.
Playing capoeira without music would be like performing an opera without an orchestra. It just wouldn't work. Unlike any other martial art, capoeira needs that element of music and singing in order to be performed or practiced.
The origins of capoeira and its music comes from the African slaves that were brought to Brazil by the Portuguese and the Dutch between the 16th and 19th century. Some people believe the foundation of the martial art is evolved from similar looking fighting styles found in Africa, but others say it was created in Brazil by the slaves. The reason you can't say for sure which theory is right is because that era was poorly documented and it's difficult to find evidence that support either theory. There are also different opinions about how capoeira was practiced in the beginning. One side will say the slaves would disguise their fighting as a dance and play in a circle accompanied by live instruments, and thus not evoking any suspicion from the slave owners. Others say the slave owners would not allow music, dancing or any other type of cultural practice and that capoeira was developed once the slaves escaped into the jungle where they formed quilombos, which were colonies of escaped slaves. There they could keep their cultures alive and capoeira was the martial art they allegedly used to defend and free themselves.
The instruments and songs has evolved with time from the days of the slave trade, but the spirits of the people of that dark era can still be found within the music and song lyrics.
The lead instrument in capoeira is the berimbau, a bow-like string instrument with a gourd, or cabaça, attached to it. There are three different types of berimbaus: Gunga, médio and viola.
The gunga has a very large gourd and the lowest tone and is played by the person leading the roda. It mainly plays the basic rhythm, or toque, and does very few variations. The médio has a medium-sized gourd and complements the gunga and will do some variations, while the viola, which has a very high tone because of its small gourd will do mainly variations and improvisations based on the base rhythm. Mestre Amen playing the berimbau.
Accompanying the three berimbaus is the atabaque (a conga-like drum),
pandeiro (similar to a tambourine), 
agogo (two bells welded together on a u-shaped metal piece) 
and reco reco (a hollow wooden cylinder with ridges on top). 
When played together, these instruments create a distinct sound you can't find anywhere else. See this video for a clip of a berimbau workshop.
The songs in capoeira can be about many things and for beginners outside of Brazil it's hard to tell the difference because they are all sung in Portuguese. Many songs have small history lessons embedded in them, others will tell you something you need to do or pay attention to while playing in the roda and some are just chant-like songs. Most songs are also modeled after the traditional call and response songs heard all over Africa and are called corridos. The person playing the gunga will most of the time sing the lead and then everybody else will collectively sing the response. When the roda has a lot of people in it this can become a very special experience and great energy can be created that everybody will feed off of. Good capoeira music clip.
There are different types of capoeira songs, too. There are songs called ladainhas, which are solos sung at the beginning of capoeira Angola rodas by the person leading the roda, which is most often the teacher. Capoeira Angola is often described as a slower type of capoeira that is played closer to the ground and has less acrobatics involved. However, an Angola game can include fast kicks as well. The three berimbaus are the only instruments playing as well and the rest will not join in until the ladainha is over and the louvação, or chula, begins. The louvação is a very basic call and response part of capoeira songs that starts with the person who sang the ladainha singing "Iê, viva meu Deus" and then the chorus responds "Iê, viva meu Deus, camará." Then it keeps going like that back and forth but the lead singer will change out what he says after "Iê" and the chorus have to pay attention to what is being said because they have to respond with the same words and add "camará" at the end. It doesn't have to start with "viva meu Deus" necessarily, but it's the most common line used to start the chula. Mestre Tony Vargas sings a ladainha.
In capoeira Regional, a quicker paced game of capoeira played mostly standing up and includes a lot of acrobatics, ladainhas are not sung. Instead they sing quadras, which are short four-verse songs sung by the person leading the roda and is then followed by the louvação, just like after the ladainha. There is a slight difference, though. Since quadras are sung to the Regional toque, or São Bento de Regional, it's sung at a faster pace and therefore you don't hold your notes as long in the response. You also don't say "Iê" anymore, instead it's more like "ê e, viva meu Deus, camará." This is a quadra, even though the person who uploaded it thinks it's a ladainha. Quadra.
There are a lot of different toques that are played in capoeira, but some you will rarely hear. The most common ones are Angola, São Bento pequeno, São Bento grande, São Bento grande de Bimba (or just Regional). Here is a good clip with most of the different rhythms played in capoeira.
The origins of capoeira and its music comes from the African slaves that were brought to Brazil by the Portuguese and the Dutch between the 16th and 19th century. Some people believe the foundation of the martial art is evolved from similar looking fighting styles found in Africa, but others say it was created in Brazil by the slaves. The reason you can't say for sure which theory is right is because that era was poorly documented and it's difficult to find evidence that support either theory. There are also different opinions about how capoeira was practiced in the beginning. One side will say the slaves would disguise their fighting as a dance and play in a circle accompanied by live instruments, and thus not evoking any suspicion from the slave owners. Others say the slave owners would not allow music, dancing or any other type of cultural practice and that capoeira was developed once the slaves escaped into the jungle where they formed quilombos, which were colonies of escaped slaves. There they could keep their cultures alive and capoeira was the martial art they allegedly used to defend and free themselves.
The instruments and songs has evolved with time from the days of the slave trade, but the spirits of the people of that dark era can still be found within the music and song lyrics.
The lead instrument in capoeira is the berimbau, a bow-like string instrument with a gourd, or cabaça, attached to it. There are three different types of berimbaus: Gunga, médio and viola.
Accompanying the three berimbaus is the atabaque (a conga-like drum),
The songs in capoeira can be about many things and for beginners outside of Brazil it's hard to tell the difference because they are all sung in Portuguese. Many songs have small history lessons embedded in them, others will tell you something you need to do or pay attention to while playing in the roda and some are just chant-like songs. Most songs are also modeled after the traditional call and response songs heard all over Africa and are called corridos. The person playing the gunga will most of the time sing the lead and then everybody else will collectively sing the response. When the roda has a lot of people in it this can become a very special experience and great energy can be created that everybody will feed off of. Good capoeira music clip.
There are different types of capoeira songs, too. There are songs called ladainhas, which are solos sung at the beginning of capoeira Angola rodas by the person leading the roda, which is most often the teacher. Capoeira Angola is often described as a slower type of capoeira that is played closer to the ground and has less acrobatics involved. However, an Angola game can include fast kicks as well. The three berimbaus are the only instruments playing as well and the rest will not join in until the ladainha is over and the louvação, or chula, begins. The louvação is a very basic call and response part of capoeira songs that starts with the person who sang the ladainha singing "Iê, viva meu Deus" and then the chorus responds "Iê, viva meu Deus, camará." Then it keeps going like that back and forth but the lead singer will change out what he says after "Iê" and the chorus have to pay attention to what is being said because they have to respond with the same words and add "camará" at the end. It doesn't have to start with "viva meu Deus" necessarily, but it's the most common line used to start the chula. Mestre Tony Vargas sings a ladainha.
In capoeira Regional, a quicker paced game of capoeira played mostly standing up and includes a lot of acrobatics, ladainhas are not sung. Instead they sing quadras, which are short four-verse songs sung by the person leading the roda and is then followed by the louvação, just like after the ladainha. There is a slight difference, though. Since quadras are sung to the Regional toque, or São Bento de Regional, it's sung at a faster pace and therefore you don't hold your notes as long in the response. You also don't say "Iê" anymore, instead it's more like "ê e, viva meu Deus, camará." This is a quadra, even though the person who uploaded it thinks it's a ladainha. Quadra.
There are a lot of different toques that are played in capoeira, but some you will rarely hear. The most common ones are Angola, São Bento pequeno, São Bento grande, São Bento grande de Bimba (or just Regional). Here is a good clip with most of the different rhythms played in capoeira.
