Berimbau

Overview

The berimbau is a single-string musical bow used in Brazil, most famously as the lead instrument of capoeira. It consists of a long flexible wooden bow strung with a single steel wire, with a hollowed gourd attached near the lower end to act as a resonator. The player holds the bow vertically in one hand, presses a coin or stone (the dobrão) against the wire to alter pitch, and strikes the wire with a thin stick (the baqueta) held in the other hand. A small woven rattle (the caxixi) is held in the same hand as the stick and shakes against each stroke.

For all its physical simplicity, the berimbau is a remarkably expressive instrument. It is also one of the world’s clearest examples of an African musical bow that survived the Atlantic crossing and became central to the cultural identity of an Afro-Brazilian art form.

Origin & History

The berimbau is descended from West and Central African musical bows brought to Brazil through the transatlantic slave trade between roughly the 16th and 19th centuries. DBpedia classifies it explicitly as a percussion instrument and musical bow, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a late-19th-century West African Musical Bow (object 501113) made of wood, gourd, and hemp — a closely related ancestor of the modern Brazilian instrument.

In Brazil the bow was adopted into the developing practice of capoeira — a martial art combining combat, dance, and music, originally developed by enslaved Africans and their descendants in colonial Brazil. By the 19th century the berimbau was already established as the lead instrument of the roda (the circle within which capoeira is played), and from the early 20th century onward it has been the defining musical voice of the form.

Construction & Materials

A berimbau is built from three main parts: the verga (a long flexible stick of biriba or similar wood, traditionally cut fresh and shaped while green); the arame (a single steel wire, typically taken from inside a car tyre); and the cabaça (a dried gourd resonator attached near the lower end of the bow with a loop of cord). A small wooden ring or coin (the dobrão) is held against the wire by the supporting hand to change pitch.

Three sizes of berimbau are used in capoeira. The lowest-pitched is the gunga (or berra-boi), which sets the basic rhythmic pattern; the middle-pitched is the médio, which plays a counter-rhythm; and the highest-pitched is the viola, which improvises around the other two. Most rodas use all three sizes, with the gunga leading.

How It’s Played

The player holds the berimbau vertically with the gourd resting against the abdomen and presses the dobrão coin against the wire with the thumb and forefinger of the supporting hand. The other hand strikes the wire with the baqueta stick while shaking the caxixi rattle held in the same hand.

Each stroke produces one of three basic sounds: a low open note (when the dobrão is not pressed against the wire), a high closed note (when the dobrão is pressed firmly), and a buzzing or muted note (when the dobrão is pressed lightly so the wire vibrates against it). By moving the gourd toward and away from the body the player also controls the resonator’s response, opening or muting the sound and creating a wah-wah-like effect.

A small handful of named rhythmic patterns — Angola, São Bento Pequeno, São Bento Grande, Iúna, and Cavalaria among them — define the speed, character, and ritual function of each capoeira game.

Cultural Significance

In capoeira, the berimbau is far more than an accompaniment instrument. The gunga player effectively controls the roda: the rhythm chosen sets the speed and character of the game, and changes in the rhythm signal changes in how the players inside the circle should move. A capoeira student traditionally spends years learning to play and to call toques on the berimbau before being given responsibility for the gunga in their own roda.

Capoeira itself was illegal in Brazil until 1937, and the berimbau played a central role in the transformation of the practice from a marginalised, criminalised tradition into a recognised art form and (since 2014) an item of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Today both capoeira and the berimbau are practised worldwide.

Notable Examples & Recordings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s late-19th-century West African Musical Bow (object 501113) is a particularly useful reference point because it documents the kind of African instrument from which the berimbau directly descends. For listening, recordings by Mestre Bimba, Mestre Pastinha, and the major modern capoeira lineages (Cordão de Ouro, Senzala, FICA, ABADÁ-Capoeira) offer the strongest introduction to the instrument’s role in the roda. The berimbau also appears in cross-genre recordings by Naná Vasconcelos, who developed an extensive solo concert tradition for the instrument outside the capoeira context.

Related Instruments

• Atabaque – the tall hand drum that provides the bass voice in a capoeira roda
• Pandeiro – the Brazilian frame drum that completes the capoeira ensemble
• Agogô – the double bell often added to the roda
• Reco-reco – the scraped percussion instrument used in some capoeira ensembles
• Musical bow – the broader category of single-string bows from which the berimbau directly descends

Where to Hear It

A capoeira roda is the natural home of the berimbau, and most cities worldwide now host regular capoeira training and public rodas. Outside the capoeira context, the instrument also appears in solo concert recordings — most famously by Naná Vasconcelos — and in cross-cultural projects with jazz, classical, and popular musicians.

• Wikipedia: Berimbau
• The MET: West African Musical Bow (object 501113)
• Wikimedia Commons: Berimbau

Learning Resources

Most berimbau players learn the instrument inside a capoeira school rather than as a separate study. Beginners typically start by learning to hold the bow comfortably and to produce the three basic strokes — open, closed, and buzz — before progressing to the named toques that define each style of capoeira game. Several senior mestres offer structured online courses, and most reputable capoeira schools include berimbau instruction as part of their general curriculum.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a berimbau used for?
The berimbau is the lead instrument of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines combat, dance, and music. The gunga berimbau player effectively controls the roda by setting the speed and character of the rhythmic pattern.

Where does the berimbau come from?
The instrument descends directly from West and Central African musical bows brought to Brazil through the transatlantic slave trade. Closely related African bows, including a 19th-century example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (object 501113), document the ancestral form clearly.

Is the berimbau played outside capoeira?
Yes. While capoeira is the berimbau’s natural home, players such as Naná Vasconcelos developed an extensive solo concert tradition for the instrument in the 20th century, and it now appears in many cross-cultural recordings.

Are there different sizes of berimbau?
Yes. The lowest-pitched is the gunga, the middle-pitched is the médio, and the highest-pitched is the viola. Most capoeira rodas use all three sizes, with the gunga leading.

Is the berimbau difficult to learn?
The basic three strokes can be learned in a few practice sessions. Building real fluency in the named toques of capoeira and developing the timing needed to lead a roda typically takes several years of consistent practice inside a capoeira school.