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.