Capoeira is never played in silence. The music decides when a game starts, how fast it moves and what kind of game it is. Learning the instruments and the songs is part of learning capoeira itself.
The musicians at the head of the roda are called the bateria. A full bateria usually has berimbaus, pandeiros, an atabaque, an agogo and a reco-reco, though a smaller roda may play with fewer.
A single steel string stretched along a wooden bow, with a hollow gourd as its resonator. The player strikes the string with a thin stick, changes the note by pressing a stone or coin against it, and shakes a small rattle called the caxixi in the same hand. The berimbau leads the roda: its rhythm, called the toque, tells the players what kind of game to play, slow and low or fast and upright.
The pandeiro is a frame drum with jingles, played with the fingers and palm. The atabaque is a tall hand drum that gives the roda its deep pulse. Together they hold the rhythm steady under the berimbau.
The agogo is a pair of bells struck with a stick; the reco-reco is a ridged scraper. They add texture and drive to the rhythm.
Capoeira songs are sung in Portuguese and mostly follow call and response: one singer leads a line and the whole roda answers with the chorus. Some songs open the roda, some tell stories of famous capoeiristas and of Brazil's history, and many comment on the game being played. Everyone in the circle sings and claps, which is part of what gives a roda its energy.
Students learn the songs and instruments a little at a time, alongside the movement. You do not need any musical background to start. Our lyrics page has the words to the songs we sing, and What is Capoeira? covers the history behind them.
Hear the music for yourself at a class in Thousand Oaks. See the schedule or request a first class with Conejo Valley Capoeira.
