The surdo is a

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

or a large

floor tom A floor tom or low tom is a double-headed tom-tom drum which usually stands on the floor on three legs. However, they can also be attached to a cymbal stand with a drum clamp, or supported by a rim mount. It is a cylindrical drum without snare ...

-like drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, such as Axé/ Samba-reggae and

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section. The instrument was created by Alcebíades Barcelos during the 1920s and 1930s as part of his work with the first

samba school A samba school () is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square-Compound (enclosure), compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazili ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Deixa Falar. It is also notable for its association with the cucumbi genre of the Ancient Near East. Surdo sizes normally vary between and diameter, with some as large as . In

, surdos are generally deep. Surdos used in the northeast of Brazil are commonly shallower, at deep. Surdos may have shells of wood, galvanized steel, or aluminum. Heads may be goatskin or plastic. A Rio bateria will commonly use surdos that have skin heads (for rich tone) and aluminum shells (for lower weight). Surdos are worn from a waist belt or shoulder strap, oriented with the heads roughly horizontal. The bottom head is not played. Surdo drummers beat the drums using hard or soft mallets.

Rio-style Carnival samba

A typical carnival samba bateria in

has three distinguishable surdo parts, each played by a drum that has a distinctive tuning due to its distinct size. The pattern of these three surdo parts is the rhythm that propels the samba. The surdo is the largest and deepest- pitched drum in the bateria—it plays the ''primeira'' (''Portuguese'': first) or ''marcação'' (''Portuguese'': marker) part. This surdo is typically between 22" and 26" in diameter. The primeira

pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...

is the entire bateria's rhythmic reference. It sounds on the second beat of the samba's basic "one, two" rhythm, and this surdo may also sound pick-up notes to start the music. A slightly smaller and higher-pitched surdo answers the primeira by playing the ''segunda'' (''Portuguese'': second), ''resposta'' (''Portuguese'': response), or ''respondor'' (''Portuguese'': that which responds) part. This surdo is a drum 20" or 22" in diameter, and it sounds on the first beat of the basic "one, two" rhythm of the samba. The smallest, highest-pitched surdo, generally between 14" and 18" in diameter, plays the ''terceira'' (''Portuguese'': third) or ''cutador'' (''Portuguese'': cutter) part. The terceira "cuts" across the basic pulse of the other two surdo parts with a complex pattern of fills and

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

s. The feel of the bateria is driven by the terceira's "swing". The only surdo player with even limited room to improvise is the terceira player.

Other Brazilian music

Surdos are used by samba-reggae and axé music groups of northeastern Brazil. Samba-reggae usually has two (or even 3) surdo tunings, the lowest tuning playing the pulse on 2 and the higher tuning playing the 1. Middle Surdos, (tuned either as the 2 or slightly higher), playing any number of counterpatterns. The middle surdos are played with two mallets in samba-reggae to allow for more complex rhythms. Single surdos are also used extensively in smaller samba and

pagode Pagode () is a Brazilian style of music that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a subgenre of Samba. Pagode originally meant a celebration with food, music, dance, and party. In 1978, singer Beth Carvalho was introduced to this music, like ...

bands. Other bass drums found elsewhere in Brazil include the

zabumba A zabumba () is a type of bass drum used in Brazilian music. The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing. The zabumba generally ranges in diameter from 16 to 22 inches, and is 5 to 8 inches tall. The shell is mad ...

and alfaia of the northeast.

References

External links

Surdo notated musicInstructions on making your own surdo beaters / mallets
{{Authority control Drums Brazilian percussion Samba Membranophones Military music