Composing in a samba style

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on composing in a samba style from the unit "Samba Fusion." By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to create a drumming composition in 12/8 samba style. Some of the keywords we'll be using in today's lesson are 12/8. This is a compound time signature with 12 quavers in a bar grouped in threes. We'll be looking at the son clave rhythm, which is a five-note syncopated rhythm commonly used in samba, described as either 3:2 or 2:3. We'll be talking about syncopation, and a syncopated rhythm is one that emphasizes notes in between the main beats. And we'll be looking at the structure of our compositions. And structure means the different sections of a piece and how it's organized. We'll start by looking at composing a 12/8 samba groove, then we'll build up the structure with breaks and solos. We're gonna create a drumming composition in a 12/8 samba style. The basis of this will be three ostinato patterns to create a polyrhythm for the main groove. An ostinato just means a repeated musical pattern. The underlying rhythm on the surdo should outline the main beats in the bar. It's got a really important role there. Here's some examples of different surdo rhythms that outline the main beats. Have a look at these three rhythms and think: how do they outline those main beats while also adding something interesting? Pause this video and consider your answer. So how do these rhythms outline the main beat while also doing something interesting? Well, all of the rhythms play on every main beat. That one, two, three, four of the one and a, two and a, three and a, four and a. Those are the main beats. Rhythm one adds an extra note into beat three. Let's have a listen to rhythm one. Rhythm two highlights beats two and four, which are important in samba. And they do this by changing the timbre on those beats. The letter M refers to a muted hit, which sounds a bit different. Let's have a listen to rhythm two. Rhythm three accents beats two and four. You can see that they're in bold, which means that they're gonna be hit harder. It also adds some extra notes at the end of the bar. Let's have a listen to rhythm three. So these are some examples of the sort of thing you might want to do with your surdo pattern, highlighting those main beats, but also adding some interest. True or false? The surdo has to play only on beats two and four of the bar. The answer is false. Beats two and four are really important in samba. So the surdo should play on those beats to outline the main beats of the bar, but it doesn't have to only play on those beats. You can add other sounds too to add interest. One of the fundamental features of samba is something called the son clave rhythm. The son clave rhythm, that distinctive samba rhythm in 4/4 time, sounds like this. The son clave in 12/8 is slightly different as the notes have to land across 12 quavers in the bar rather than eight quavers in 4/4. So in 12/8, we'd write out the rhythm like this. It sounds like this. Notice the notes that land off the main beats of the bar. Highlighting these weaker beats creates syncopation in the rhythm. Let's clap this rhythm along with a backing track. Emphasize the first note as it lands on the downbeat, and this helps to give musical shape to the rhythm. Wait for the counting and then clap along. There's two different forms of this rhythm. We can hear it in its 3:2 form, which means the group of three notes comes first. That sounds like this. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, nine, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, nine, 12. We can also hear it backwards in its 2:3 form with the group of two coming first. That'll sound like this. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, nine, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, nine, 12. The son clave can be played on any instrument, but it does work well with an instrument that has a timbre that will cut through that busy texture of all those percussion instruments playing together. Good instruments that will do this are the agogo bells, tamborim, or the caixa. This sound will contrast really well with the simple rhythms being played by the surdo. Here's an example of what our main groove might sound like so far. We can see we've got a simple rhythm on the surdo, and the tamborim is playing that son clave rhythm. Listen again to this 12/8 son clave rhythm. Which version of it can you hear? Is it A, the 3:2 son clave with the group of three first? Or B, the 2:3 son clave with the group of two coming first? The answer is A. That was the 3:2 son clave. We can now compose one or two other contrasting rhythms to go with our surdo pattern and our son clave rhythm to complete our groove. You might wanna add one part where the instrument is playing semiquavers, 'cause this can help to make the music sound busy and vibrant. This can work well on an instrument like the ganza or the caixa. We can also borrow and adapt rhythms that we've used or heard before. This can work really well when composing new ideas. So rather than having to start with a completely blank grid, you're welcome to consider ones you've heard before and use that as a starting point. Here's an example groove using a simple surdo pattern, the tamborim playing the son clave, and two other patterns on top. Let's have a listen. To compose a 12/8 samba groove, use at least one low and two high parts. Use a pattern that lasts for four beats. Use a simple rhythm on the surdo that lands on the beats. Include a syncopated pattern like the son clave. Use a variety of strikes. So you could use normal strike, strike with your hand, a flam, or a mute. You could include a busy semiquaver pattern on the ganza or caixa part. Have a look at this example of a 12/8 samba groove. Why is it successful? Is it A, because the surdo always plays on the beat? Is it B, because it uses the son clave rhythm? C, because there is a syncopated rhythm? Or D, because the ganza plays semiquavers? The answers are: A, the surdo plays on the beat, which it does. C, there is a syncopated rhythm. The tamborim plays a very syncopated rhythm falling off of the main beats. And D, the ganza part plays semiquavers. The only incorrect answer here is B, 'cause this groove doesn't use the son clave rhythm. Now it's over to you to create your 12/8 main groove. The success criteria are: use at least one low and two high parts. Use a pattern that lasts for four beats. Use a simple rhythm on the surdo that lands on the beats. Include a syncopated pattern such as the son clave. Use a variety of strikes like a normal strike, hit with your hand, a flam, or a mute. You could include a busy semiquaver pattern on the ganza or caixa. Practice each rhythm separately first before putting them together. Here's a rhythm grid that you can use to write out your rhythms. Pause this video and compose your 12/8 samba groove. So now you've had some time to compose your 12/8 samba groove. Let's reflect on how it went. Listen to this example, and I'd like you to think: how do these rhythms match the success criteria? Have a look at the rhythm grid, and let's have a listen to the example. Pause this video and consider how these rhythms match the success criteria. So what do you think? How did these rhythms match the success criteria? You might have said something like this: There is one low part, the surdo, and three higher parts. The surdo plays on the beats, and it emphasizes beats two and four by using a muted sound. The caixa is playing the son clave rhythm. The ganza part plays constant quavers this time rather than semiquavers. The repinique rhythm is suitable, but mainly plays on the beat with no syncopation. So you could have done something a bit more interesting with this part to make the groove even more interesting to listen to. Now let's look at building the structure of a samba composition with breaks and solos. We can fit our main groove into the samba structure like this. Often, a samba will start with a break, then go into the main groove, then you'll have another break, back to the main groove, and then finish with a break. So we need to compose a break pattern. Break patterns could have high and low parts playing different patterns. It could be a call and response, or it can have all players playing the same pattern. Here's an example. This example break is in two parts, an A section and a B section. The A section is played three times, and the B section is played just once. Let's have a listen. To put the whole structure together, you'll need to first compose a break. Then practice moving from the break to the main groove rhythm. You can then put the whole structure together. You could also add some solo improvisations onto the main groove two when it comes back after the middle break. To develop an improvised idea, you could make it up on the spot, and this can sometimes be inspired by fragments of existing rhythms. You could decide to use one or two prepared rhythms before the performance. And this is a kind of secret of improvisation, is it doesn't have to be all completely original on the spot. You can go in with a few pre-prepared ideas and use that as a starting point. You could use a rhythm that extends each time that you or another performer plays it. This can be a great way to have a pre-prepared idea and then extend and develop it. Having some prepared ideas doesn't prevent the spontaneity of who performs the solo and when. So there can still be an element of improvised, in-the-moment performing. Here's an example of how you might extend an idea. This rhythm extends each time a player performs it. You can see the first time it uses the first three beats, and then each time it comes back, more is added. Let's have a listen. Listen to this example of a 12/8 samba piece that uses this structure. You'll hear the break, then the main groove, then the break again, then the second main groove, but this time with improvised solos over the main groove rhythms, and it'll finish with a break. Let's have a listen. True or false? Improvisation has to be totally made up on the spot. The answer is false. We can prepare some ideas beforehand for improvisation, and we can have some rhythmic ideas ready as a starting point. When we perform them, the level of spontaneity can be around how those ideas are used, how they're extended, and how they're developed. Now let's practice your full samba drumming composition. The success criteria are: Make sure you practice the breaks first, so you know them really well. Then practice changing from one pattern to the next fluently, so it's easy to get from one section to another. Then practice the full structure without solos. Finally, put that whole structure together, and you can add solo improvisations into the main groove two. Make sure you choose a tempo that's suitable for the whole group. If you go really fast, it can be hard to stay in time. So think of a tempo that's gonna work well for your group. The structure of your performance will look like this: Start with a break, then the first main groove, then a middle break, back to the main groove with added improvised solos, and then finishing with a break. Pause this video now and practice the full structure of your samba composition. So now you've had some time practicing your full samba composition, let's reflect on the success of your performance and composition. Did you perform all of these sections in order? If not, what was the structure of your performance? Did you change between the sections fluently? Did you keep a consistent tempo? Which specific samba rhythms did you include? Did you notate your rhythmic ideas? Pause this video now and reflect on the success of your performance and composition. In today's lesson, we have composed and performed a rhythmic piece in a 12/8 samba style. We've learned that a successful samba structure includes a main groove and break sections. We've developed these within the structure by adding some solo improvisations. We've used rhythms that included a simple surdo pattern, which outlines the beats, and some more syncopated rhythms such as the son clave. Well done for your composition and performance work across this project. I'll see you again in a future unit.