Brazilian Percussion and Drum Set

Th;e

Essence oJ Brazilian Percrrcsion

wtd Dntm Set with. Rhythm Sectlon Parts

Rhythms Songrtyles Technlques

Appltcatlons By Ed Urlbe

The ^Essence oJ Brazilian Pereussion antd Drum Set

This book was deshop published and produced entirely by the author. Audio CD recorded, mixed and produced at Big Daddy Productions, Englewood, NJ. All instruments played by Ed Uribe. All photographs by Cildas Bocle.

fsBN 0-7692-2024-X @

MCMXCIII, MMVI ALFRED PUBLISHING CO., INC.

All rights reserved. Printed in

USA.

No part of this book may be reproduced for any purposes without the express written permission of the author.

t'fu

F-ssenu. of

Aruitian gaussion

nt

tDrun Set

About the Author

Ed Urtbe ls a graduate and facult5r member of Berklee College of Muslc llt Boston, Mr. Hc h.3 dso taught at Drummers Collecuve ln New York Cfty and appeared as a guest cducator at nureroua other sctrools. In addltlon to hls role as an educator, Ed pursues an acuve ftcc-lance carccr Frffimlng wlth maJor arusta throug[rout the world. He has performed wlth Ray Barrctto, Randy Brcctcr, Crry Burlon, Mlchel Cam o, Paqulto Dtlvera, Georgc Coleman, Tania Maria, Donald Byrd, Darrc Smucl., Daud Frrcdman, Claudlo Rodlu and The Toshtko Akb,osht-Lew Tabaktn Ordrcrtre, among ottrcr.. As an arust endorser and clhlcl,an for Z djtan Clmbals, Pearl Drums. Afto Percu$ldr, Vlc Sucks, KAT Inc., Korg Inc., Opcode Systems, Fbhman txum Trtggers and Rcmo Productr, Ed has appeared htemaUonatly at maJor Jazz festlvals and unlverslues.

nrth

In the f,cld of mrdt and electronlc perculdon, Ed performs Eolo conccrt! and clrnrcr d hlr o*rr L de a rnldl clhlclan/consultant and heads the electronlc percusslon and programmfng courser at Bcrklec composlUonE, and do€E programming and productlon work for varlous aruets and rtudloa. Hc Couege.

As an educauonal leader and ln-demand pla]rer rn the fleld of Lath pcrcu.slon, Ed hrr dq/cloped and dtrects the LaUn Percusslon program of ltudy for Berklee College and har wrlttcn cxtcndv€ educauonal materlal on thls subject hcludtng hls two books and vtdeos on Brazlllan and Afto-Cuben Percusslon and Drum Set publlshed by cPP/Bclwln Inc, Ed has lfrred ln Braz and also toured the country extensfvely both as a pcf,formd ertd a atudcnt of the muslc and culture. He also performcd tn Carnaval tn l9&1. Ortgtnally from San Franctco, Ed ls currently based tn New York.

lIfu

lF-ssence

of Sra.ziIian lPerausinn and lDr*m Set

Acknowledgments and Dedtcation To be able to play muslc of any ldnd l,s a gft frorn a greater pwer. Althoug[r muslc |3 eomc' thtng that belongs to everyone, playfng ft ts not somethhg that everyone ls able to do. It ls somctlmes easy to lose slgbt of what a prlvtlege ft ls to be able to play and teach muslc as my ltvelthood. Whlle a part of m€ belleves that becomhg a mualclan ta not a matter of cholce but a matter of tnevftabtllty. lt ts by no meana an automatlc occurrence to become one. It ls both a llfetllne and lfe-stjde commltment. Ifs Just one you make at all costs. On tl:e other hand, wh,lle you alone become a muslclan, you are bound ln various ways to other tndMduals ln order to er"r)

Ir

30

I I 1V

' I 1V

J

Aoiat tPa.ttrrttl

Followtng are three the nort set of oomples.

ner5r

common one bar varlatlons. They are tntegreted fnto lonacr

l.-o)'

'r,

f or llf,e Suto rrl ?twni a phnxs ln

2.

|

.l

v

r

r

!r.

|

lv

r

3

'r'

|

1V r

These are patterns commor y uacd a! varlatlons to thc baslc trmc fccl or ar the thrrd rrd/or fourth bars of a four bar phrase. All harrc a baclc patt€rn fn tre first two bat! wtth vtdrtfd[ h tlre thlrd and/or fourth bars.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

3l

l8r azitia.n

lP

tctu sion

Ag;o-go Bells

Ago-go bells are pa.lrs of bells connected wlth a metal rod. There are also sets of three or four beUs con;ecled together-. Ttrey are usually tuned ln thlrds, held tn one hand, and played wtth a sflck wtth the other. Onie a rhythm ls startsd, the pattern ls generally kept constant erccPt rn less tradt'

Uonal settlngs where lnprovtslng varlaUons works well' Follovrlng are some common patterns for sanba:

l.

lt-\ 2.

3.

flrst of these ne):>

,)J J ll-J nl

fl

Here are some varlailons:

l.

>>.>

>>>

4l

tsrazitun geratssbn

Tamborim

Flgure

F-Igwe 2

1

The tambor|rn ts slmtliar |Ir shape to a mtniature tambourlne but wlth no J|Itgles. It ls playcd wlth a thtn wooden sdck or a three-pronged plasttc or rattan sttck, The flngers of thc hand holdtr4 the tambo['tm are also us€d to dampen the back sfde of the head to produce open c closcd notca (r?gut" I ). There are two waye lt ts commonly played. The firet and most baslc ts to pliay the top of the hcad wnh the atfck Wwe 21, adJustlng the open and close the notes wlth the fingers on the underelde of the head. Dlfierent stroke tJ[tes are alao used for a varlety of sounds: l, Tlp o,f st/r,k n @n@lr oJ hmd 2, Rtrn shots, 3. Rtm shots wtth shoulder oJ sticb 4. Arents. In Escolias performlng ln Camaval sc\rcral arc uscd ln unlson to orcheEtrate rhythmtc passageE. Pracuce the folo$rfng patterns. The notes marked wlth a "+" are played wtth the fingerc muung the head. lhose marked wtth an 'o" are open notes wlth no mutlng'

l.

++o

'no 2.

')l "JrIlJ[

+++ o ++

rEO 42

JJJ

oo

+ o o

o

",fll J Jl | - )- Jr,bJ

il

tmbarin

3.

+o

rEe -Jr 4.

+

+

"Jr)")llJ .l "Jr)il + o ++ + ++ +++

+

+ o ++ + o o ++

+

rEe ")J 6.

o

.,]il J .l IJ

+ + +o + +

rEe 5.

)".bJ

+ +

| "l Jl')IJ" \

rE$ -r,r JJ h,

l

")l J J JJ")il

As an addluonal embelllstrment, the f,ngcrs may al.so play aju,er rhythm qr thc undcr.fdc d the head. These notes play between the note! bclng struek by the suck. Thl. crcetcr mcc d. trohanded pattern, The fnger notes funcflon llke ghosted notes. Followlng arc two oomplcr:

4(t

:Brasilian lPeratssion

lnvohrcs a ltttle more technlque. Tradluonally thfs ap' dso bc dorre (shoron n exo@cs belou), altho-ugtrr lt -can so the tamborlm the rotates hand other dependrni on dre sound deslred. T6e "u"k " str-tkes ln two dtfrerent-spots wues 3a through 3c). This gfves you accented and unacccntcd beater pla!rcd wtth notes to produce the samba paitern-ttittt"a Uao*. Fo11owlng le the most common rhythm

Ihe s€clnd vray to ptay the tamborltn proactr is plapd *tU" i *,t1"--protrgd beater

ttrt tigii;

thls technlque'

ln the T.hts pattern would be played on two parts of the tamborlm. The notes marked 'R" to the Thls ls E1'11116r 3a;, 1'' pattem wouid be played at t1'e t6ttom of thitambortm as shown Wure

lrr the pattern ls played at th€ to m€et tlle sttck. You tamborlm top oitft" tamU'orrm ana rs execuied by the oiher hand rotaang the (when lt rotates the ttrt rk of tht" stroke as behg playe-d by the left hand strlklng the suck "un tamborm), hstead of the stlck strtkhg the tamborln (tlgures 3b otrd 3cl'

il"t

t""tn fq.t" pti""ttt"d ott the prevlous

Pgure 3a

44

page. The stroke

Ftgure 3b

marked'L'

Ftgure 3c

Milo

Pandelro

The Pandetro ls the Braz tan tambourfire. Tlrls t! an lnstrunent that rcqulrcr co[r!|dcrrblc technlque to play. It has been doreloped and mastercd by vartous muslclans to thc polnt of truc arUsfy. T1re pandetro ls rrcry often a featured solo lnstrument ln E'ecolas de Sambe. a! sdl at ln contemporary groups where a percusstontst ls featurcd. Tfaduonal Carnaval solo. oftcn hcludc theatrtcal trlcks such as rollhg the tambourhe acrors the ctrest, or down thc leg and ofi thc foot, splnnlirg them on the ttp of the flngers or playhg two tambourlnes shultancoudy. A mudclan by thc name ofJoa6 de Balana (Joa6 Machado Guedes) ts rald to have lntroduced the pandclro e! en hatru' ment |Ir the Escola de Samba

Pandetros can have plasflc or calf-skin heado. Thcy come |lr dlffer€nt slzcr Ynh lO' .td 12" bctng the most common, Calf-skh heads produce a bctter 8ound, but pres€nt tunfng Probhm. |. thc weather changes so plastlc headB are more ooqrmon. The pandetro ts held tn the weak hand. Ttre fingers, thunb and heel of the other hand rre urcd to strtke the top of the head. Open and cloeed toner arc Soverned by etther the thumb c mddlc ftt1pr of the hand holdrng the tambourtne. The thumb can mute and release ftom the top of the hd Wtttc f ). The mtddle ftnger can mute and release ftom the underslde of the head [flgure 2]. Whtch mctbod ynu use depends on the type of goove you're playlng thc slze of the pandelro, and wtrat you'rc mct comfortable wlth.

Flgure

1

Ftgwe 2

45

Srasifian lPeraasion

Followtng ls a notatton code for the rhythmrc patterns:

1.

Thumbstroke near edge oJ head.Stmllar to a rtmshot ?hls wltl be efther an open or closed, tone (flgure 1).

2.

Ftnger strolee tn the upryr center oJ the head, Use the ttps oJ theJlrst three fingers (flgure 2). 2a. There ts another techntque used wtth thtrs stroke. The leJt handpluots or rotntes the tambourtne slde to stde. Thls can be thought oJ as the tambourlne sffiklng theJtngers Instead oJ theJtngers strlklng the tambourtne. In acfinl plaglng tt ls a comblnatton oJ the two mottons (flgure 2a|

3. 4.

Thumb stroke or heel oJ hand tn lower center oJ head (flgure 3). Ftnger stroke-s ame as number two (flgure 4). *A number 4 strolee notnted wtth an arcent means the note ls a slap stroke.

\tgure

Ftgure 2a

46

Wure 2

1

Flgwe 3

F-lgure 4

Nziro

Pracdce the followlng er mean to close the opentng an the gourd bg pulltng tt agatrwt gour bodA.* 5. L.H.-Notes marked wtth < mean to open the opentng on the gourd bg pushtng lt awagJrom gour bodg. *The opentng and clostng oJ the hole on the gourd. ts largelg a matter oJ the plager's technhal abttttg 61nd mystcal taste. There ls one common approach Aou can u,se atfirst. Itr/hen the coln ls not touchtng the uttre pla1 the notes closed. When the cotn ts touchtng plag them open,

1.

r5-t 2.

64

fr"WW The Rhytlrrn Sectlon Follonrlng are short o.amples of Braztltan melodlcr, bass llnes, harmmlea and comPha Pttterns so you can famlltartze lourself wnh how the rhythm eecuon hstrumcntr *uk, and ttth re d the bastc harmonrc and melodic characterlsucs of thcrc rtJres. You can pracuce wtth thcac cnnplc. by recordlr4 them lnto a E€quencer and cutttng ard partfng unul you have dfercnt vampr to plry along wlth. If 1ou don't have any MIDI gear, then rccord them to a tape and play aldtg ttth thrt. f you don't harrc kgDoard chops to play these oomples ynurclf then ask a kqiboard plrF ftEd to lccad then for 5ou. It would also be rrcry benef,clal for you to darclop eone kqDoard rktlb.

W|nat thie Bast Plager Does As a drummer/percusslonlst, one of your prlrnrry concerns should bc what the btx Plrylr playhg and hooking up wlth tt. Here are some baslc pattcrns.

lhe flret four

L

examplee are for Samba.

1.

D-7

G7

2.

3.

D-7

D-7

G7

4.

c-lF

c-/F

c-/F

65

Erazi[inn gerausion

The next three examples are for the Samba De Partldo Alto.

c7e

2.

3. G-7

The next two examples are for the Bala6.

l.

2.

D

/Fil

D

lFI

The next example ls for the Frevo.

l.

G7

G7

G7

G7

-ta

The next two examples are for the Afox6.

t.

66

C

D-7

G7

D-7

G7

'Ifu trtulh,Suion

The next erample ls for the Bossa Nova.

l.

G-7

c7 (bs)

e-z t bs)

pz

cz tbgl

d,-z

pz tbs I

tbsl

tbg I

Comping Patterrrt on thle Plano and, Gultar The complng of the glultar or ke5board playr a ma1or role ln the groorc and fccl d thc rhythm secflon, You ehould be also be famrlbr thesc tn truments' pattcrns. Herc arc eorrc appmcher ftr the varlous stylcs.

first two are for the Boesa on the guttar. Rcmember, thlE lE a fcah|rc lnetrumcnt Bossa, and the stJde was partlally da,rclopctd cr th€ gultar.

Ttre

d thc

olz

2.

rLz

pLt

G7

G7

67

Srazifnn lPerausion

The next two guttar examples are for the Samba (example 1) and Chorlnho (example 2).

l.

2.

cr rbsl

nz tbg)

The next goup of examples are for ptano or keyboards. Samba: 1.

cLr

2.

a)

? l-l,

c6

cLz

c6

LUV ?

LLI

Bossa:

68

cz

7 ,, - r|57 .4

t-a

,a

l.

G7

D-7

tbs I

G7

D-7

,', lff

4

ry

F

'Ifu *fr!{il,5ection

oe

tsrazi[inn lPerausion

Choro: 4.

on the folloudry; page l8 an er(ample of a samba melody and rhythm secflon arran8lcmcnt. It lllustrates some common rhSrttrm s€cuon tnterpretaUons of a Samba. The bass ltne{rawlng ftom Bass E €mples three and four---+rras used througtrout, and the ke]'board compltrg uses the pattcrn from Keytoard Example number two. NoUce the ofibeats tr tlte turnarounds and how those relate to the patferns |It the percusston and drum set o(amples, TYy playtng througb the form ustng varlous approaches on both the drum set and wlth the percusslon.

70

'Ifu ft$fuSoctio;

E-7

YLz

D-z

obz

c^z

D-7 E-7

eh

7l

tsruifnn gerausinn

Summary Havtng completed Part One of thts book, you should now have a baslc understandlng of ttic ctgtns and biclqg;unds of Orese rhythms and song-styles. You sttould also harrc some baslc tcchdcal ddlls on the percugston tnstrunend, and a wcalth;f rhy0rmrc patterns to pliay ln thc varlous !ty4c!. Tfy to memoize as much of thls materfal as you can, and tlsten to and learn as much muElc aa lnr Ttrls w l be lour ultrmate €iulde for how to aruculate these rh5rthms' In Itour llstcrtlrg ."it rtt tttf" "tyt". try to ldenufy and memortze thtnge that you hear repeatedly--cltch6s. These tjDtcalphrasce romc' ufres even tienufy a etyle, and nilny flmee are an tndtcatton of a player's rcal famlliarlty wlth a aty{e. you can thtnk of them as you woutd thfnk of colloqulalsms or slang |Ir a language. You vouldn't went to apply them arttfictally anymore than you would want to speak ln only 6lang terms, but thcy are an tntegral part of learnlng the ldlomattc vocabulary of a style. As you move on to the drum set, keep |I0 mfnd that what is played on the drum ect d/olvcd ftom the pircusston. The more you can apply from Part One, the more authenflc you can sound'

one f,nal potnt I alvra]ts €ncourage drum set players to learn more about p€rcu3sldl ard I'Grcu& sfqd8t3 to lcarn drum sct. I aiso ettco"rage both drummers and p€rcussfordgts to lcarn,mdc about harmony and melody and hw the other irstruments funcdon---€spectally tf pu are_ rcally trylng to leatn a style and reatty tyng to team nuelc. Thls w make 5our role as a muslclan much mdc qgtf""ttt fq prerlgefy tfrfe r;sdFtou become a muelctan, not Just a drummer. In Bradl, to belqg to thc Batcrla of an Ssdla ae Samta tito be part of an elite class. Ttre same holds true ln many Cuban and Aftlcan cultures. ln Amertca, drurnmers tend to llve wlth the sflgpa o'f Just behg the drummer. ThtB ltlgna fs dlsappearhg because mor€ drunmers and percusslontsts are becomhg total musldanE. To play tn an fscota 3ou f,ave to know many songstyles, ihy0rms and mustc tn g€neral,-not Just- the bcets' As vra! menUoied tn ttre begtnning of the Uoot>

R

Thls second example tncorporates the htglt surdo tnto a baslc pattern. * Use Aour htgh o;ndlow tomsfor the two surdo Wrts.

RLRLRLRL

104

RLRLRLR

llrr;ttc.s{.o

ltrese no>

2.

RLRLRLRL

RLRLRLRL

>>>

3.

RLRLRRLR

RLRLRLRL 4.

>>>

RLRLRRLR

RLRLRLRL 5.

>>

>>-

>>

>>

RLRLRRLR

RLRLRLRL

-

6.

RLRLRLRL

>>>

>>

>>>'

RLRLRRLR

l05

Now that you have some materlal under your belt, start puttfng these patterns together and lmprovlse longer phrases. Followtng are some ldeas to get you started. Notlce how the phrases are butlt employtng the concepts stated ln the Samba: Suggesttons For Improutsatton sectlon: longer phrases are butlt thraugh th,e repetttton and grouptng oJ shorter phrases and stlght uarlatlorts.

Four bar phrases made by comblnlng materlal from the two bar phrase and addtn$ narlatlons.

>.:>, >>

>

>

l.

RLRLRLRL

RLR LRL RL RLRLRRLR >>.>

>

2.

>>>

-

RLRLRLRL

RLR LRL R L RLRLRRLR

RLRLRRLR -

RLRLRRLR

Etglt bar phrases made by combtnlng materlal from tlle two and four bar phrases and addlng varlatlons.

>>>

3.

RLRLRLRL

R L R LR L

L RLRLRLRL

R

R L R LR L

R L

>>:>

->>

>>>.>

>

RLR LRL R L RLRLRLR

L RLRLRLRL

RLRLRLRL >>>'

>>>>>

4.

RLRLRLRL :>

>>

>'

LRLLRLRL

t06

>>:>

RLRLRRLR

>

>.>>

-

RLRLRRLR

RLRLRLRL -

>>

:>

LRLLRLRL

>

-

RLRLRRLR :>

>>>

-

RLRLRRLR

SnhCru&

Samba Cnrzado The word ouz.odo llterally means crosrcd rn Portuguege. Hence Sa'|ba Crurodo mc.tr. cra.€d Sanba. Ttre crosB€d rd€rs to ]/our arms belng crocrcd at the drum set. Your lcft hand cras orlr qr thc l|are J,our rlgtrt and pliays the Surdo part8, whfle your rtglrt hand play8 vartous Samba phrarer drum (flgures I & 2t. Wure 3 on the next pdge slwws a close-up oJ tLe hand prrg.lt&.ntor *ttlrr t2 slrorL nl,{:ted. notc oJ UE surdo pattem. Tfe hdcxlnger helps keep the stlck agoltrst tlre hd tlrE yg.rr otlAr twtd E notfitee to mute the drum.) Thts approach mlght have developcd ltr part bccrur tnt people are rrght handed. Most of the trnprovtstng fn these patterns ls done wtth onc hand qr thc lrrre whlle the other plays the Surdo ostlnatos on the toms, Slnce Braztllan drum sct pla]'cra rrc aenarrlly not ao technlcally ortented as Amerlcan drummerc thts approach may have cvolrrcd fn pert to dlot the strong hard to do the lmprovtslng. (ThrE te Jurt a thcory and ls not a historlcal fact.l Ydr rhouH h pracflce thesc patterns wlth th€ tradfuonal crurddo approach. Then Jrou should rc|vtrac thc hrndr md play all the Surdo parts wnh thc rrght hand and rmprovrse wlth the l€ft hand. You can rl,.o Frt . tor tom on the l€ft Etde of your set, and play the pettcrm dthe Surdo ln thc left hand. Th lmltrsv|atbn wrll stll be ln the rtgfrt, but pur hands won't bc 6o.sed.

Flgure

1

F'tgure 2

l07

Ftrst, work on plaJdng the followtng surdo patterns. You can pracuce thlE wtth thc lcft lmnd Surdo vtth both now, do all the pattern s (jruzado, then woik on thi opposlt€. Or you canpractlce the phyfng a d€ad'stohe on by hand, piayed one wlth h"rrd" ,ro*. llri Surdo pattern on a stngle drum ls the downbeat, and an open stroke on the upbeat'

1.

l08

S*ctu.Jo Dt wI tiltl El }IltEI"

Once 5ou're comfctable plarytr4lthe Surdo part rlth one hand, add thc marc drum. r€p€aftE a two bar phrase. When pu have a gird Srww happqdngl ],ou cdl bcgb tryot

These are two very conrmon phrases:

' n+

'Ill*IJ

' ne rf ,fl

lJ"-tl'

hl-ll

j-7

'[]

,'

il

Here are aome more ootnmon phrases. Aho, go back and play all the tro bar fust Samba s€cdon. Combtne all the two bar phrarer wtth all of the Surdo pattcrm.

l.

pittcrnr ftm ihe

r-3-1 t-3-r Ti-.r rno J J J J J I J J J J Jil

l.l

' nO J-fTlrJ-rl l, J-r-l J I

il

'nej-l-rl-fill+JIJrhil If 1ou harc trouble puttfng the two part! tollether you can wrltc one und6 thc otbcr rc you c"tr sc" *ho" the hands piay together and apert. Snare pattern I abow wlth Surdo prttdn { tm the prcvlous page would look llke thls:

109

Srazii[ian rham

S et

Kfrytfu

Samba Marcha Ttre $arnba Marctra was dertved from a combtnauon of varlous Samba stylee and thc Portu' gues€ mtlttary parades. It Intttally evolved througlr adapthg the rhythmo of the parade snsrc drum to the Samba groo\rc. The Samba Marcha ls play€d at Elow to medlum tempos. You'll be worhng prma'

rily wlth snare and Surdo patterns. Followtng ts a balrtc pattern. Nouce the snare pattern ls the same as the bastc pattcrn &om thc p€rcuaaton score of an Escola de Samba. YouYe playlng a scaled down Surdo part dl thc f,oor tm' The roll on beat three ts done ae a one handed buzz whlle the rlght hand plays thc flod tom dmulta' neously. T'hts ls only a skeleton pattern. There are many varlauons that can be played.

R

Another way to play the Samba Marcha ls to play the snare pattern wtth or y one hand. Then play phrases on two toms or mounted percusalon trstruments wlth the other hand. lSone emmples oJ phrases are on tlv neft IWe,) If you play the snare wltll the rfg[t hand, lou'll harc to croar orrcr your rubt arm wtth your left. You'll be playhg cruzdda. Thts ls the tradtttonal way to do tttlE. You can do lt both ways. Start by pracuctng the snare drum part $rtth your rg[rt hand. When you're comfortablc work wlth phrases fn the left hand. Thls requlres a blt of coordlnauon, so don't g€t dlscouragcd lf ],ou can't do lt rlgtrt away. Tty thts rhythm wlth dtfierent foot pattems and finally, work on frnprovlilng wtth the Ieft hand. Play the followtng pattern on the snare wtth your rtgbt hand. When you're comfortable, add thc lcfr hand parts.

110

s*rb{,e

Play the followtng patterns wtth the left hand on your toms or agr$o bella:

1.

,n*

I J J .')|*|lJ,JJil

,ne

r# r)llJ ItJ-r-1

2.

3.

il

Fd moe combtnauons, contlnue the lsrerc part wlth the one hand, end to b.cl to thc tn bar Samba phrases from the Bostc Drum Set Ap4,/r!,4,?4js s€cuon, Take the two bar phnrcl md tnpmvlre, brealmg them up between two toms, lmprovltc accents and orchestrauon! on ),our tct. If you're havhg trouble playhg these cqnbtuuons, lt may help to lcc thc tgo Frt tqFtlEother-as nre dld wtth the Batucada e