Exploring Brazilian Rhythms – Edu Ribeiro

Edu Ribeiro shows you how to combine different traditional Brazilian rhythms, including the samba and baião.

Want more drum lessons with Edu?

Learn how to play authentic Brazilian rhythm patterns with Brazilian Jazz Drumming.
learn

Hi, I’m Edu Ribeiro and welcome to Two Minute Jazz.

You know what those rhythms that I just played now have in common?

Every rhythm was the same sub-division, in 16 notes, and often this rhythm has the same time signature: 2/4. And all of these rhythms were Brazilian rhythms. And that’s something that people maybe don’t know. That if they are different rhythms, you could combine these rhythms.

You could play this rhythm in the same song, and with some parts you play samba and a different part you play a baião, or in the same part of the music you play both.

And talking about the 16 notes, if you play samba, that is the most common Brazilian rhythm. You have the pandero, the tambourine doing chika chika, that I’m going to imitate with my right hand or on the hi-hat or on the cymbal.

If you have to play a baião, you have the triangle that goes: ticka ticka ticka. That I’m going to try and imitate with my hi-hat too.

If you’re going to play a maracatu, the snare drum does the 16 note all the time.

And even if in the rhythm there is no percussion instrument playing out the 16 note, the subdivision of the clave will be in 16 notes, as in the afoxê from Bahia.

That is one thing that we’re gonna practice together here, the combination of this rhythm.

Happy practicing.

Scroll to Top