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What does a surdo do?

What does a surdo do?

The surdo is the the deep bassy heartbeat of samba. Their essential function is to mark the time for the bateria and dancers. But their effect on the ensemble is massive. A good surdo crew fills the samba with life and energy, but will also hold it down if things start to rush and speed up.

What is the surdo drum commonly played on?

A Rio bateria will commonly use surdos that have skin heads (for rich tone) and aluminum shells (for lower weight). Surdos are worn from a waist belt or shoulder strap, oriented with the heads roughly horizontal. The bottom head is not played. Surdo drummers beat the drums using hard or soft mallets.

Where does the surdo drum come from?

Short surdos are also called Surdo Axé or Surdo Bahia. The name already tells us that those drums come from Brazil´s Northeastern Samba Reggae. Nowadays, more and more of the shorter, about 50 cm high surdos are also being played in Rio´s Samba schools.

How is a surdo made?

They both have a cylindrical shell, but the larger surdo is made of laminated wood with a diameter of 20 in., while the smaller is made of aluminum with a diameter of 18 in. The beater is made of wood with a thick rubber bulb at one end. A strap for carrying is attached to the tuning rods with clips.

What is the timbre of a surdo?

bass
Normally, the sound of the Surdo de primeira is bass, the segunda mid and the terceira is treble (the bateria da Mocidade has the other way around, primeira is treble and the second one is bass – it really depends on the bateria style) .

What instruments are in samba music?

Samba percussionists play a wide array of instruments, including:

  • Snare drum.
  • Bass drum.
  • Wood block.
  • Tambourine.
  • Cuícas (a type of friction drum)
  • Pandeiro (a type of hand frame drum)
  • Surdo (a type of bass drum)
  • Tamborim de Brasil (Brazilian frame drum)

What are drum beaters made of?

Mallet shafts are commonly made of rattan, birch, or synthetic materials such as fibreglass.

What is a samba drum?

A samba band normally consists of Tamborims , Snare drums (Caixa), Agogo bells, Surdos, Ganzás / Chocalho (shakers), Cuíca, Timbal, Pandeiro, and the Repinique. The band leader often carries a Repinique, as well as using Apitos (whistles) to signal breaks and calls. A big set of samba drums in the UK costs around £300.

How is a drum played?

Drums are usually played by striking with the hand, a beater attached to a pedal, or with one or two sticks with or without padding. A wide variety of sticks are used, including wooden sticks and sticks with soft beaters of felt on the end. In jazz, some drummers use brushes for a smoother, quieter sound.

What drum did they use before the surdo?

Before the surdo was used in samba there wasn’t a big, loud bass samba drum loud enough to hold the beat and be heard by everyone. The main percussion instrumets in samba were agogo, ganza, chocalho, reco- reco, cavaquinho and cuica.

What is the size of a surdo?

Surdo sizes normally vary between 40 cm (16 in) and 65 cm (26 in) diameter, with some as large as 73 cm (29 in). In Rio de Janeiro, surdos are generally 60 cm (24 in) deep.

What is the history of the surdo?

The surdo was invented by Alcebíades Barcelos – (Bide) in Estacio de Sa in Rio de Janeiro and was first used in Rio carnival in 1928, in the parade of the first ever samba school, Deixa Falar. WHAT INSPIRED BIDE TO INVENT THE SURDO?

What is the diameter of a samba surdo?

This surdo is typically between 22″ and 26″ in diameter. The primeira pulse is the entire bateria’s rhythmic reference. It sounds on the second beat of the samba’s basic “one, two” rhythm, and this surdo may also sound pick-up notes to start the music.