Types of Birimbau: Practitioners of Capoeira called “Capoeiristas” classify three sizes of birimbau. The first size of the birimbau is the [berra-boi or gunga]. The gunga is the largest of the sizes, patience is required to play the gunga since the rhythm rarely changes throughout the performance. The second size of the birimbau is called the Médio [others use the term viola] is the medium size of birimbau. The Médio birimbau is considered to be the medium size. The viola or violinha is considered the highest pitch of the birimbaus.
Playing Techniques:
The birimbau held up by the left hand close to the chest while the
musician is standing. The right hand strikes the [arame] string with a
[baqueta] being a stick of a thin diameter and short length, used to
tap the string to produce the sound. The left hand manipulates a small
brass coin called the [pedra or dobrão] is used to press against the
[arame] string to change the tone of the birimbau. The birimbau is used
to keep the tempo of a rhythm during capoeira and other dances.
Capoeiristas (practitioners of Capoeira) classify three sizes of
birimbau. The first being the [berra-boi or gunga], these are the
largest of the birimbau and have the lowest pitch. Patience is required
to play the gunga since the rhythm rarely changes through out the
performance. The Médio [others use the term viola] is the medium sized
birimbau hence being the middle birimbau. And the Viola or Violinha if
the medium tone is the viola, is considered the highest in pitch.
The Caxixi:
The caxixi pronounced “ca-chi-chi” is a percussion instrument in which
is a small rattle woven from rattan. A bottom surface is added to
weight the instrument down a bit for the ease of performance. The
"fill" is then added, the fill of the caxixi could be of small pebbles,
lead shot or anything a bit heavy in weight. Although the caxixi is
small in size when the correct amount of fill is added, a desired
percussive can be achieved. The caxixi is usually played in
accompaniment with the birimbau or it may be played separately.
Anatomy of the Birimbau: The birimbau is constructed from a bow traditionally from biriba wood. gourd, string and brass ring or
stone The string is tied to each end of the birimbau and which
the gourd is affixed almost a foot to the top end of the bow. The gourd
serves as a resonance chamber. Often bicycle break cable, or steel
diameter.