Samba Samba

School Radio > Music > Join in with Music

A lively introduction to the sounds, instruments and dances of South America - especially Brazil.

The video

Samba Samba

This lively introduction to the sounds, instruments and dances of South America - especially Brazil - is a feast for percussion, with a chance for everyone to join in.

You might like to organise the class into several groups, as if in a samba band:

• Hand drums, especially bongos, congas and timbales (like tambourines without the jingles); also body percussionists, who will pat their knees and thighs in time.
• Cowbells, agogo bells, castanets and claves; also body percussionists who will clap and click their fingers in time.
• Maracas, cabaças and shakers.
• Guiros and scrapers.
• Melody instruments that can make up tunes using chromatic notes (ie the white and black notes on a keyboard) first between high C and the five notes below it, then similar patterns for notes high F and high A flat.
• String instruments, such as ukuleles, guitars, violins, cellos, autoharps, etc.

Two instruments heard and seen in the video but probably not available at your school are the berimbau - a string instrument played by twanging a long string rhythmically with a stick - and also a bass guitar.

Resources

School Radio > Music > Join in with Music