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| Percussion instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Apito de Samba or Samba whistle. |
| Classification | Aerophone |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.221.11 (Whistle) |
| Developed | Brazil |
Apito, which is the Portuguese word for "whistle", refers to any of a variety of whistles.
The apito de samba ("samba whistle") is used during performances of samba. In a samba school, the apito de samba plays a crucial role because during these performances, the mestre de bateria – the "band leader" – uses the whistle to signal transitions to the band. These transitions could include changes in timbre or rhythmic pattern. [1] The origins of the apito are undoubtedly a fairly simple instrument, but has developed as a standard today into a whistle capable of giving three notes. The LP Tri-Tone Samba Whistle shown here has its origins in Brazilian music but has become a standard in today's dance music as well. It has three distinct, complementary tones that are achieved by placing fingers over the side chamber holes in various combinations. [2]
The rhythms played on apitos de samba are endless and often change throughout a batucada performance.
Outside Brazil, especially in Europe, the samba whistle is also used as a rhythm instrument. This part is not necessarily done by the band leader.
The samba whistle is easy to learn, so it is also a suitable toy musical instrument for children. In samba music, the samba whistle is a perfect supplement for the maracas. This requires very loud maracas so the whistle does not drown them out.
Samba band leaders can choose to either play a single-tone apito – common referee whistle – or a tri-tone apito. Apitos were traditionally made of wood, but now most are made of metal. The whistle is a chamber that has a small ball or dowel rod inside. [1] When one blows air through the mouthpiece, the small ball or dowel rod moves around the chamber and hits its sides.
Since, the apito de samba has a small ball or dowel rod that hits the sides of the whistle's chamber, this instrument creates a loud and shrill sound, which is useful in a samba school because the sound can be heard over the playing of the band. However one can manipulate the sound of the whistle by changing the speed at which one is blowing air through the instrument and by changing one's embouchure.
Audio example of variations in apito de samba can be found online. [3]
Sound of a wood samba whistle can be also heard online (1:46 – 2:08). [4]
Band leaders using single-tone apitos can choose to hold the instrument between their teeth and create signals with both the whistle and their hands to conduct. Band leaders with tri-tone apitos hold the instrument with one hand and can use the other hand to conduct.
Tri-tone apitos have three holes – one on the top, one on the left, and one on the right. One can manipulate the pitch being played by covering either or both of the holes on the sides of the instrument using a thumb and/or index finger. [5] Covering none of the holes creates the highest pitch, while covering either of the two side holes creates the middle pitch, and covering both side holes creates the apito’s lowest pitch [6]
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks, one in each hand, and uses their feet to operate a foot-controlled hi-hat and bass drum pedal.
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding zoomusicological instruments and the human voice, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments. In spite of being a very common term to designate instruments, and to relate them to their players, the percussionists, percussion is not a systematic classificatory category of instruments, as described by the scientific field of organology. It is shown below that percussion instruments may belong to the organological classes of ideophone, membranophone, aerophone and cordophone.
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The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The heads may be made of calfskin or plastic and there is normally a means of adjusting the tension either by threaded taps or by strings. Bass drums are built in a variety of sizes, but size does not dictate the volume produced by the drum. The pitch and the sound can vary much with different sizes, but the size is also chosen based on convenience and aesthetics. Bass drums are percussion instruments and vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished.
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. A tin whistle player is called a whistler. The tin whistle is closely associated with Irish traditional music and Celtic music. Other names for the instrument are the flageolet, English flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, tin flageolet, or Irish whistle.
The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from clay or ceramic, but other materials are also used, such as plastic, wood, glass, metal, or bone.
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Indigenous music of North America, which includes American Indian music or Native American music, is the music that is used, created or performed by Indigenous peoples of North America, including Native Americans in the United States and Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Mexico, and other North American countries—especially traditional tribal music, such as Pueblo music and Inuit music. In addition to the traditional music of the Native American groups, there now exist pan-Indianism and intertribal genres as well as distinct Native American subgenres of popular music including: rock, blues, hip hop, classical, film music, and reggae, as well as unique popular styles like chicken scratch and New Mexico music.
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A repinique is a two-headed German drum used in samba baterias. It is used in the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo Carnival baterias and in the baterias of Bahia, where it is known as repique. It is equivalent to the tik-tik in the non-Brazilian drum kit or to the tenor drum in marching bands. It is tuned very high to produce a tone that cuts through the sound of the rest of the bateria and it is a lead and solo instrument.
Samba-reggae is a music genre from Bahia, Brazil. Samba reggae, as its name suggests, was originally derived as a blend of Brazilian samba with Jamaican reggae as typified by Bob Marley.
The kashaka is a simple percussion instrument consisting of two small gourds filled with beans One gourd is held in the hand and the other is quickly swung from side to side around the hand, creating a "clack" sound upon impact. It originated in West Africa, but has been reproduced in various countries under different names: Patica (Japan), Kosika (USA). Other names include Asalato, Kes Kes, Tchangot Tche, Koshkah, and many others.
An egg shaker or ganzá is a hand percussion instrument, in the idiophone category, that makes a noise when shaken. Functionally it is similar to a maraca. Typically the outer casing or container is ovoidal or egg-shaped. It is partially full of small, loose objects, such as seeds or beads, which create the percussive sounds as they collide, both with each other and with the inside surface of the container. The egg shaker is a Latin American instrument, cheap to buy and relatively simple to play.
An unpitched percussion instrument is a percussion instrument played in such a way as to produce sounds of indeterminate pitch, or an instrument normally played in this fashion.
There are several overlapping schemes for the classification of percussion instruments.
A vessel flute is a type of flute with a body which acts as a Helmholtz resonator. The body is vessel-shaped, not tube- or cone-shaped; that is, the far end is closed.
Afro-Brazilian music' consists of a mixture of musical and cultural influences from Sub-Saharan Africa, Portugal, and on a smaller scale, Amerindian music, creating a large variety of styles. Lyrics, instruments, and even melodies often have connections to African culture and even influence culture and music in other countries today. It is strongly influenced by African rhythms. The most well known sub-genres of Afro-Brazilian musical genres are Samba, Marabaixo, maracatu, ijexá, coco, jongo, carimbó, lambada, maxixe, and maculelê.
