Instrument Tips Shayna
McHugh General • At the beginning of the roda, there is a typical order for the instruments to start playing. The berimbau(s) always start first; if there is more than one berimbau, the person leading the roda (often playing the gunga) starts first and sets the toque, and then the other berimbaus begin. Next to start playing are the pandeiros, and then finally the atabaque, agogô and reco-reco. In certain angola rodas, only the berimbaus (in some groups, the pandeiros as well) play during the ladainha; the other instruments enter during the chula/louvação. • If you want to play one of the instruments, it’s good manners to offer (not demand) to do so. Try to catch the current player’s eye and make a gesture (for example, point to yourself and pantomime playing the instrument). If they nod, go over and take the instrument from them. If they refuse, don’t take offense. • In angola rodas, as well as some contemporânea rodas, instruments are only switched at the beginning/end of games, never in the middle. Be attentive to when members of the group exchange instruments. • If you’re playing an instrument and you want to hand it off, do the same thing: catch the eye of one of the players in the roda, and hold the instrument up to offer it. • Try to switch only one instrument at a time; it gets chaotic and the music dies down if three people are exchanging instruments simultaneously. • Just as you would watch out for your fellow players tiring in the roda, keep track of the bateria and know who’s been playing for a long time. That way, you can offer to take instruments from someone who needs a break as opposed to someone who just started. This is also simple consideration; it can be extremely tiring to get “stuck” on an instrument forever when no one else is offering to play it. • Most capoeira toques are in 4:4 time, with the exception of Cavalaria, which is in 6:8 (however, this toque is rarely used in rodas anymore). Berimbau • There are several ways to string a berimbau. It’s easiest to get someone to show you the first time. Don’t be discouraged if you have a hard time with it; it takes strength and practice! • One way involves placing your knee against the middle of the verga, putting weight on it while pulling back on the top of the verga to bend it, then wrapping the wire around the top. • I’m too uncoordinated to string the berimbau by the method above, so I prefer to place the bottom of the verga in front of my left ankle, step over it with my right leg, and bend the berimbau around the back of my right thigh. I pull the top of the verga with my left hand while wrapping the wire around with my right. • The cabaça should not be much higher than one hand-span above the bottom of the berimbau. Squeeze the wire while you slide the cabaça on. • Some people advocate unstringing the berimbau whenever you’re not using it, others claim that leaving it strung won’t hurt it. I prefer to unstring mine. • Half the battle is holding and balancing the instrument… but all it takes is (a lot of) practice! Try holding the berimbau and moving it back and forth towards and away from your body, as well as tilting it side to side, while attempting to maintain control. • Don’t be surprised if your pinky finger hurts and even goes numb for a couple days. It’s normal, it’ll go away, and with more practice your endurance will improve. • Make sure to hit the arame above the dobrão for the high tone and buzz tone, below the dobrão for the low tone, and to keep the cabaça pressed against your body for the buzz tone. • If you’re getting a “tinny” high tone that isn’t as resonant as the low, or having to press the dobrão excessively hard against the arame in order to get a pure high tone without any buzz, try using a bigger/heavier dobrão. Finding a heavier stone for a dobrão was KEY for me in getting a loud, pure, resonant high tone. • RELAX your shoulders and your hand while playing! It will help you get a better, louder sound. • Another technique to help you play louder is to move the berimbau away from your body (move it out to meet the baqueta) on each hit (except for the buzz tone). • Make sure to hit the arame with the baqueta straight on, and not at an upward or downward angle. • Strike with both your wrist and your arm. It’s like throwing a Frisbee. If you keep your arm immobile and try to throw it with just your wrist, it won’t go very far. It’s even worse if you try to throw it using your arm without moving your wrist. So while playing the berimbau, you need to both move your arm towards the berimbau AND snap your wrist in order to get a good strike and a good sound. • Don’t hit and then pull the baqueta away; relax your hand and let the baqueta bounce off the arame naturally. • Try to make your tones “clean”; each note should be distinct. If you hit a low tone and put the dobrão on it too soon while the arame is still vibrating, you’ll hear the tone rise prematurely (for example, your angola will sound like tch-tch-dom-(dim)-dim instead of tch-tch-dom-dim). To fix it, delay putting the dobrão on for as long as possible, until you can do it just before you strike the arame for the "dim." Practice it slow with angola until you get the hang of it, and then when you speed up it will feel more natural and the pressing of the dobrão and the hitting for the "dim" will be virtually simultaneous. Same thing applies for the reverse problem – taking the dobrão off too soon after the high tone. • The buzz done should be atonal and distinct from the high tone and the low tone. Most people have trouble with the buzz tone. Practice it a lot. • In angola rodas, each berimbau has a specific role. The gunga sets the main toque: let’s say it’s playing angola (tch tch dom dim). The médio will invert the toque and play São Bento Pequeno (tch tch dim dom) and the viola will also invert, playing São Bento Grande (tch tch dim dom dom) and improvise a lot. Pandeiro • Start with the simple rhythm – rim-center-rim-(rest) – and work up in complexity. • The hit in the center of the pandeiro should sound different from the rim hit; if it doesn’t, then you’re doing it wrong. The center hit should be slightly muted; leave your hand on the surface a little bit longer instead of letting it bounce off immediately. • Did you know that you can change the tone of the rim hit? If you press the thumb of the hand holding the pandeiro against the instrument’s skin, the rim hit has a higher tone; if you release that thumb, then the rim hit has a lower tone. • It can be useful to train yourself to play pandeiro with either hand; this way you can switch off if you start getting tired while playing. Atabaque • Relax your hands in order to get the best sound out of the instrument. • As with the pandeiro, the hit in the center of the atabaque should have a separate and distinct sound from the hits on the edge. The edge hits are deeper and hollower in tone; the center hit sounds higher and more “snappy” (if that makes any sense) – I think because it resonates for less time than the edge hits. • Don’t bang away carelessly on the atabaque! This instrument has the potential to be played very loudly, but in the capoeira bateria, it shouldn’t be. Thus, take care that you’re not overpowering the berimbaus with the atabaque. • I’ve heard from some instructors that the atabaque rhythm should never stop: this means that when the atabaque player switches off, the new player must come in and start playing without missing a beat. It’s pretty simple to do, as long as the rhythm isn’t light-speed. Agogô • The sound of a metal agogô is high and sharp enough to be heard over all the other instruments, so STAY ON BEAT! If I’m playing berimbau and the agogô is rushing or lagging in the rhythm a little bit, it actually throws me off. If you have trouble staying on beat, follow the 1-2-3-(rest) of the atabaque or the pandeiro players. • Some groups play low-high-low and others play high-low-high on the agogô… you’ll have to ask your particular instructor which way your group does it. • Of course you’re allowed to improvise, just make sure you stay in the general rhythmic structure. Reco-reco • The reco-reco is a pretty simple instrument and a good one to start out with if the idea of playing instruments intimidates you. The rhythm is the simple 1-2-3-(rest). • You don’t make all three scrapes in the same direction. I usually scrape away from my body on 1, towards on 2, and away on 3; this seems to be most natural and flows the best.
|
