SAMBA BAND
SONG NUMBER FOUR
'MAMBO NO5'
Breakdown of Parts
Here is the song broken down into ten different percussion instruments. This is a good way to get an idea of the options regarding instruments used in our Samba Band as well as getting to hear each instrument on its own.
For this fourth song and for all future songs there are also section breakdowns for Surdos so you can hear the three Surdo parts together.
This is also true for the agogo bells and the cowbells which form a melodic bell 'section' of their own and so it's good to hear them playing together
These parts are novice friendly so there are no accents in the playing and the sounds themselves are guides only.
The only exception is the ganza which does illustrate an accent on the off beat
Each audio file starts with the full band and then cuts to the individual instrument, this repeats a few times to aid practice. There is a guide 'click' in some of the files to help you as well.
This song has guide trumpet as well.
Word reminders in lower case italic are only said, they are not played
words reminder :shush THE BEAT . . . .. shush THE SURDO
words reminder : ONE shush A head A head
words reminder : shush TWO shush FOUR
Repinique (drum played by the leaders)
words reminder : OI! TOGETHER . . ALL PLAY TOGETHER
words reminder :AS YA DO . . OVER TO YOU TWO
Cuica (friction drum)
words reminder : one - two - AND - three - four AND
Tamborim (hand drum)
words reminder :
HERE COMES THE TAMMM BO .. HERE COME THE TAMM BO AN'
Ganza (shakers)
words reminder : ONE AND TWO AND THREE AND FOUR AND
NOTE
The offbeat (AND) is accented here (played louder). This gives the sound a very important reggae type feel, understated, very subtle and very musical
words reminder : HIGH LOW . . AND HERE WE GO
words reminder :one AND two AND three AND four AND
words reminder :ON THE BEAT ON THE BEAT GET UP AND DAANCE THE BEAT
words reminder : FIND A WAY . . YOU WILL
Important Information for Newbies
You should not go out and buy an instrument before coming along to rehearsals. We use specific brands of drums and other percussion. If you are an experienced player and have your own instrument, of course, do bring this along with you.
What instrument should I play?
All newbies will have the chance to experiment with different instruments and then decide which 'team' they would like to join. We will help with this decision depending on how quickly you take to different instruments and on how many people are already playing that particular instrument
Other Considerations
The drums (Surdo, Repinique, Caixa and Cuica) are expensive to buy and you will have to purchase your own instrument fairly soon after joining the band. They are however much loved and musicians often give them names!
Surdo drums can be heavy but offer simple patterns to start with. Some of the Caixa drum patterns can be very complex and need to be played very accurately and require a lot of practice and a very natural sense of rhythm. However we will be keeping things simple during our first year but if things go well Caixa players particularly may well wish to rehearse separately to get their heads around the more complex drum patterns that can be enjoyed by experienced players. Something for the future.
Shakers (Ganza) are great for those who wish to dance on the street !
Agogo Bells, Cowbells and Block cut through the noise of the drums and are lighweight to hold, inexpensive to buy but even simple parts need to be played quite accurately.
The Pandeiro is a traditional Brazilian tambourine, essentially a hand drum with bells. Instead of using Pandeiros we will for the first year be using standard tambourines used in rock and pop bands in the west. The parts will generally be easy to play and ideal for those starting out with our band.
Tamborims are always popular. Handheld drums with a little stick beater - they are bright fun and simple patterns to start with although they get more complex as you learn more. Again not particularly expensive to buy and easy to carry around. Very important if walking to rehearsals !
If you have any questions at all please just get in touch by email
