Brazil: Music and Dance

Brazilian dances and music, such as the samba, baião, bossa nova, and lambada, are known by millions all over the world. Several Brazilian musicians have won international fame. One is Antônio Carlos Gomes, a composer of the 1800's whose opera about a proud Indian is called Guarany (1870). Heitor Villa-Lobos composed more than 2,000 works based on the folk music of the Brazilian Africans and pioneers. Guiomar Novaes was a noted pianist.

The Portuguese influence in music is threefold. When the Portuguese people arrived in Brazil, they had with them many European instruments, including the flute, clarinet, a small, four-stringed guitar (that later became the ukulele in Hawaii), guitar, violin, cello, accordion, tambourine, and piano. These instruments, particularly the guitar, tambourine, and flute, have been used in much of Brazil’s traditional music. The Portuguese brought from Europe vocal music such as ballads, romantic songs, church music, children’s songs, and lullabies, which were sung using the scales and harmonies common in Europe then. The choros (Portuguese for weeping or crying) is the most popular song form in Brazil and is accompanied by guitars, flute, clarinet, and mandolin. People enjoy dancing to this music. Finally, the Portuguese brought with them the familiar rhythms of their region of the world, including rhythms of the polka, the waltz, and the march.

The African musical influence is very strong in Brazil and is found in the instruments, rhythms, and dances that are enjoyed there. The most familiar African instruments are various large drums, two-toned agogo bells, a variety of rattles, and bowed instruments with a resonating gourd attached. Another popular African instrument is the friction drum, which is a metal drum with a leather head that is punctured by a stick wrapped in a wet cloth and moved up and down, making a haunting sound. Much African music is used to accompany dances that are included in rituals. The drums are considered sacred, and the drummer plays a very important role in the rituals.

The most popular dance in Brazil, the samba, comes from African rhythms and movements. The music for the samba is usually played on African-derived instruments but might also include brass instruments and guitars. Each region of Brazil has its own form of samba. The best time to experience the music and dance of Brazil is during Carnival. This is a pre-Lenten festival in which groups of people dress in elaborate costumes and parade through the streets. The celebration usually begins with marches with lyrics that praise women and criticize the government. Members of different samba schools gather and enter the parade, dancing their samba down the street and singing their school song, accompanied by large drums.

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