Brazilian Rhythms

In Brazil, we can find different rhythms according to the region and popular culture. The country is very rich in this theme. Samba, for example, along with soccer, is an expression of Brazil’s best-known abroad. But samba is just one of our typical musical rhythms, which also include the frevo, maracatu, the ballad…

Frevo
This is a march of syncopated rhythms, haunting, violent and frantic, which is its main feature. And the crowd waving, swaying in dance, is boiling. It was this idea of boiling (the people pronounce ‘frevura’, ‘frever’, etc..), Which created the name ‘Frevo’. The choreography is improvised and almost acrobatic, originally performed in colorful clothes and an umbrella. One can not fail to mention that since the 1970s, the frevo also gained ground in the carnival of Bahia: Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil composed several frevos, to run on electric trios.

Forró
The name derives from Forrobodó, “pagodeiro fun,” according to folklorist Cascudo. The liner was in origin a lively dance for several musical genres, such as the ballad, the xote, and xaxado. In this sense, was also known as “foot-dragging” or “chat slipper”. Forró today is practically a musical genre that includes the rhythms mentioned above. Its origin is the interior of Northeast brazilian and the musical instruments used are basically the concertina or accordion, triangle and bass drum.
Some scholars attribute the origin of the word forró pronunciation Brazilianize “for all”, that at the beginning of the century, British engineers Railroad Great Western, promoted to the workers in Pernambuco, Paraiba and Alagoas.

Baião, xote e xaxado
The baião, according to folklorist Cascudo, associates the words “Bahia” and “rocket”, small pieces of music performed by guitar, the range of challenges among the singers to improvise. But the genre established itself and gained new features when the accordionist Luiz Gonzaga popularized it through the radio in Brazil. This is the rate that prevails today in forrós.
The xote is a slower pace, to dance the two, of German origin, but who settled in northeastern Brazil and mixing steps of waltz and polka. The xaxado was originally an exclusively male dance, performed by bandits, without instrumental accompaniment to the singing, the rhythm marked by the butt of the rifle, hit the floor. The xaxado name must come from the Shah-shah-shah who made leather sandals as they skim along the ground. The dance, spread by Wagg and his gang relieve the female presence. According to Luiz Gonzaga, “in this dance, the lady is the rifle.”

Coco, lundu e maxixe
Another traditional dance of the Northeast and NorthBrazil, coconut, is uncertain origin: some say it came from Africa with slaves, and some argue it is the result of the encounter between the black and Indian cultures. Although common on the coast, the coconut would have appeared in the Quilombo dos Palmares, from the pace at which the coconuts were broken to remove the almond. Its musical form is sung to the accompaniment of a tambourine or ganzá and beat feet. Also known as samba, pagode or Zambia, coconut originally takes place in a circle of dancers and musicians who turn and clap.
Already lundu was the first african american genre of popular song. Originally it was a sensual dance practiced by blacks and mulattos wheels of drums, standing as a song just at the end of the 18th century. Later in the 19thcentury, with matching classical, came to the halls of the elite in Rio. However, the rhythm disappeared in the early 20thcentury, or rather mingled with the tango and polka and gave rise to the gherkin. This appeared between 1870 and 1880, as dance, and became musical genre around 1902.

Beyond folklore
If the rhythms mentioned above, for its popular origin, rural and located in certain regions, have explicitly folkloric character, perhaps one can not say the same pace as one of the Chorinho. The Chorinho arises in Rio de Janeiro, then the federal capital, and derives from an interpretation of the polka. It became popular, along withfolk songs, around 1870, withbands that accompanied serenadewithguitar, drum and flute. It is cultivated to this day, both in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro there are clubs that specialize in offering chorinhos or any night of the week specific to this genre.
Samba comes from various African rhythms and its name comes from the word “Semba”, which means “navel” or circle dance where the participants play the belly. Throughout the 20th century, samba evolved and won several forms, such as the samba-canção, samba de brake, the samba and, more recently, the pagoda. As mentioned earlier, Samba has become a symbol of Brazil and its increased expression occurs in the carnival, especially in Rio de Janeiro and, more recently, also in Sao Paulo.
Bossa nova can not fail to be mentioned among the Brazilian rhythms, including by its international prestige. Bossa nova was the name given to a musical movement launched in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950 by singers and composers of the middle class. Its most striking features were given by Joao Gilberto, which included melody, harmony and rhythm and a more intimate way of singing. The letters drew his lyricism of everyday life. Besides the aforementioned João Gilberto, had as its greatest exponents Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.