The Earplug Blog — Bateria RSS

In the world of Rio de Janeiro’sCarnaval, you can tell which samba school bateria is playing just by sound alone. Several factors go into this but a crucial element of that signature sound is how the bateria tunes its drums. I met with my teacher Junior Sampaio, bateria director at Portela, inside the iconic blue and white quadra to explore the historical evolution of bateria tuning and get a live demonstration of how surdos are tuned today. The Evolution of Samba Tuning: From Flames to Pitch Precision Historically, bateria instruments were tuned over open flames to tighten goat skin heads before rehearsals and parades. As Junior Sampaio explains, tuning was far less standardized in earlier decades, with each ritmista maintaining their...

Mini Desfiles at Cidade do Samba Two weekends ago Cidade do Samba had a little preview show of the Grupo Especial parades that will happen in the Sambodromo next February. The different components were there such as bateria, baianas, porta bandeira & mestre sala, passistas, various alas etc. but in smaller numbers than the typical parade.  For example, I heard that the bateria was limited to 50 people. So of course they took their best players and put on a great show!  A few groups even rolled out some mini floats and confetti cannons. Those of you who know me know that I love a disco ball and a confetti cannon. The groups went in order of how they will be presented...