Performing a samba in 12/8

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on Playing a Samba in 12/8 from the unit Samba Fusion. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to perform a samba in 12/8 and switch rhythms from the break to the main groove. Some of the keywords that we'll use in today's lesson are 12/8. This is a compound time signature with 12 quavers in a bar, and these quavers are in four groups of three. Compound time means when each beat of the bar is divided into three quavers rather than two, which is what we call simple time. And a quaver is a note that lasts for half a beat, also referred to as an 8th note. A flam is a technique where the drummer plays both hands together, one just slightly before the main louder note, and a crescendo means a gradual increase in loudness. We'll cover all of those words in more detail in today's lesson. We'll start by learning a 12/8 groove, then we'll look at the breaks, and finally, we'll perform a samba funk in 12/8. There are many different types of samba. Often, these have developed infusion with another style such as samba reggae, which has elements of Brazilian samba and Jamaican reggae. Most traditional samba can be notated in 4/4. However, samba can also be in 12/8, and this gives a subtle difference to the feel of the music. If the music's in 12/8, this means there are 12 quavers in a bar. When we count time signatures, the top number 12 refers to the number of beats and the bottom number refers to the type of beat, in this case, quaver beats. When we've got a time signature in 12/8 with 12 quavers per bar, these quavers are grouped in threes. Each beat has a triplet or a three feel to it. Being 12 quavers in a bar, you might think that you'd count it as one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, but because those notes are grouped in groups of three, we tend to count it like this, 1-and-a 2-and-a 3-and-a 4-and-a rather than a fast count of 12. And this helps you to feel the strong beats. The strong beats happen every three. So if I count that again, 1-and-a 2-and-a 3-and-a 4-and-a, you can hear that the strong beats are those main beats every three, which gives it a kind of four feel, but subdivided into three, each individual beat having a three feel to it. Have a listen to a 12/8 samba and think, how would you describe the overall feel of the music? 4/4 and 12/8 both have four beats in a bar, but the division of the beat is different. We can count or feel those subdivisions to work out the difference. At the top, you can see a 4/4 pattern with the beat subdivided in two. There's a one and two and three and four and. Have a listen and try saying the counting pattern while tapping the main beat with your foot. Now, below, we can see a 12/8 pattern with each beat subdivided into three. So a 1-and-a 2-and-a 3-and-a 4-and-a. Again, let's have a listen and try saying the counting pattern along with it, tapping that main beat with your foot. 12/8 is an example of something called compound time. This means that the beat is divided into those groups of three. This creates a swaying or swinging feel and has a similar feeling to a swing or a shuffle rhythm. Let's have a listen. A 12/8 time signature also allows for more complex but exciting rhythmic options. In a Samba performance, the Ganza, which is the shaker, often subdivides the bar by playing semi-quavers or 16ths throughout. In a 12/8 performance though, the Ganza is not going to be playing 16 quavers. It's going to be playing 12 quavers throughout the bar, a beat like this. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, and 12. True or false? 12/8 and 4/4 both have four beats in a bar. The answer is true. The beats are divided differently, but the overall feel is the four beats. In 12/8, they're divided in groups of three, so you feel it as a 1-and-a 2-and-a 3-and-a 4-and-a, whereas in 4/4, the beats are divided into groups of two. So you hear it as a 1-and 2-and 3-and 4-and. True or false? The Ganza typically plays 16 semi-quavers in a 12/8 groove. The answer is false. The Ganza tends to play 12 quavers throughout the bar in a 12/8 groove, one note on every quaver in the bar. This is because the beat is subdivided differently. In a 4/4 groove, it would play 16 semi-quavers. Which of the following is an example of compound time? 3/4, 4/4 or 12/8? The answer is 12/8. A compound time means that the beats are subdivided differently. And so the clue here is the eight as the second number, meaning that the beats are divided into 12 quavers rather than four crotchets, as is the case with 4/4. Samba drums can create different timbres depending on how they're played, and this just means different sounds. This helps to create more variety in the sound of the ensemble. What different sounds are being used in this example? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. So what different sounds were being used in that example? Aisha says, "Playing with a hand and stick together, hitting the rim and striking the middle of the drum. All of these create different sounds." Different sounds can be achieved by hitting the skin in different places, like the rim, the edge or the middle, and striking the drum sometimes with your hand, sometimes with sticks. You can also use the tip of the beater to mute the drum, making the top skin less resonant and creating a different sound. We can use these symbols to show different strikes. An X will mean a normal strike. An M will mean a muted strike, which means you're going to strike with the top of the beater and hold onto the skin so it doesn't resonate as much. An F is going to be where the drummer plays both hands together, one just slightly before the main note, and this is something known as a flam. An R is going to mean the rim or the edge of the drum. To build a 12/8 groove, we can start with the low pitch percussion. We'll look at the three different types of surdos, which is the marcacao, reposta and cortador. Have a look at the rhythm grid below. Let's start by listening to the base surdo part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Now, let's listen to the mid surdo part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Finally, let's listen to the high surdo part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Now, let's look at the high pitch percussion parts. We've got the caixa, the repinique, tamborim and agogo bells. Have a look at the rhythm grids on the screen. You can see some Xs to mark normal hits, but also some different symbols. The F denotes a flam, the R shows hitting the rim and the L and H for the agogo bells show when to play the low or the high bell. Let's have a listen to the caixa part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Now, let's listen to the repinique part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Now let's listen to the tamborim part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Finally, let's listen to the agogo bells part. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, nine, 10, 11, 12. So if we're going to perform a 12/8 groove as a small group, we need to choose the rhythms and instruments that we want to use in our performance. Make sure you include the base surdo pattern or the caixa pattern, as they mainly fall on the beats. When playing really syncopated parts, it's important to have things on the beats as well so we get a real sense of the pulse. This helps to keep the ensemble in time, and it'll contrast with the other patterns you choose to build up your main groove polyrhythm. For variety, then choose at least two more complex syncopated patterns. What is a flam? Is it A, muting the sound by playing and holding the tip of the stick on the drum? B, playing the rim of the drum? Or C, playing both hands together one just before the other? The answer is C. A flam is when you play both hands together with one just before the other, louder main note. True or false? It's important that all the rhythms are complex in order to create an interesting polyrhythm. The answer is false. Including a simple rhythm that outlines the main beats helps to reinforce the pulse for the ensemble, and it gives a contrast to some of the busier, more syncopated rhythms. So now it's over to you. Your next task is going to be to practice and perform a 12/8 Samba funk style groove. The success criteria are, make sure you include the lower surdo rhythms, the caixa rhythm, or both. You could also include at least two other contrasting syncopated rhythms. Make sure you keep a consistent tempo, and make sure you start and finish together. You could stagger the start so that the instruments come in one at a time. Try and emphasize the downbeat where applicable. Here's those rhythms written on a grid. You can see the different instrument sounds and a key to show what the different symbols mean. M, meaning a muted hit. F, a flam, R, a rim, and then L and H for the low and high agogo bells. Pause this video now and try learning your 12/8 groove. So now you spent some time learning your 12/8 groove. Let's reflect on the success of your performance. Which more simple rhythms did you include? Which more advanced rhythms did you include? Which additional rhythms and instruments did you include? How did you start and finish together? Did you stagger each entry? Did you adapt to anything else to make your performance a success? Pause this video and reflect on the success of your performance. Now let's look at the breaks. The introductory break is in two parts. The A section is played three times and the B section played just once with a crescendo, which means getting louder. The use of dynamics creates variety and interest in this performance. So we can see the A and B sections notated in the rhythm grid below. They're divided into high and low instruments. In part A, they'll play separately, and in part B, they'll play together. Let's have a listen to the high instruments first. Now, let's listen to the low instruments. In two groups, clap this introductory break along with the rhythm. Once you've done it once, we'll swap parts. You can use claps to indicate the high parts and taps on the knees to indicate the low parts. Remember, when you get to part B, after doing part A three times, when you get to part B, use a crescendo to get louder and louder. Listen to the counting and then clap along. Now, let's swap parts and try again. Listen to the counting and join in. The middle break is used to separate the main groove into different sections. The high instruments play the majority of the rhythm. Again, you can see the rhythm grid below separated into the high instruments and the low instruments. Let's start by listening to the high instrument parts. Now, let's listen to the low instrument parts. In two groups, clap along with this rhythm, and then when you've done it, we'll swap parts. Again, indicate the high part with claps and the low part with taps on the knees. Wait for the counting and then join in. Now, swap parts and try again. The end break signals the end of the piece. All the instruments play together. Can you work out what the rhythm will sound like from the grid? Now, let's have a listen to the rhythm. What is a crescendo? Is it A, where the music gradually gets quieter? B, where the music gradually gets faster? C, where the music gradually gets louder, or D, where the music gradually gets slower? The answer is C. A crescendo is where the music gradually gets louder. Let's have a listen to those breaks again. I'd like you to label each of the audio files with intro break, middle break and end break. Here's clip A. Here's clip B. And here's clip C. Here's the answers. A was the end break, B was the intro break, and C was the middle break. Now it's your turn to practice the three different breaks. The success criteria is for the introductory break, you need two different sounds, the high pitch percussion and the lower pitch percussion. It's in two sections played AAAB. So the A section happens three times with a crescendo when you get to the B pattern. The middle break also needs two different sounds, the high pitched percussion and the lower pitched percussion. In the end break, everyone plays it together. Use a verbal signal like a four-beat counting so everyone starts at the right time. Here are the rhythm grids for the three different breaks. Pause this video and practice playing these breaks. Now you spent some time playing these breaks. How did you do? Reflect on the success of your break performance. Did you perform each break accurately? How did you signal to start each break? Did you add the crescendo into the introductory break? Pause this video and reflect on the success of your break performance. Now, let's look at performing a samba funk in 12/8. The overall structure of your samba funk is going to look like this. You'll start with the intro break, then begin the main groove. Then you'll have a mid-break, back to the main groove, and finish with the end break. To perform a samba funk, identify someone in your group to be the sambista who will lead the breaks. Make sure that every player knows the main groove and the break rhythms. Practice moving from one rhythm to the next until it's really easy to do so. You could spot some similarities in the breaks to help with how this works. Make sure you use your eyes to watch other people in your group and your ears to listen to try and keep in time with each other. You can sometimes move in time with the music to help keep the pulse. For some variety, we can create our own rhythms or swap rhythms when the main groove returns. So you might, for example, be playing the tamborim rhythm in the first main groove section, and then when it returns, you might move onto the timbre rhythm, or you might want to play some more advanced patterns. In these examples of more advanced patterns, both the caixa and the Ganza play a constant semi-quaver pattern, but they add accents to emphasize a different rhythmic pattern. Have a look at the rhythm grids and you'll see the crosses that are bold show an emphasized or a louder beat. Let's have a listen to what the caixa pattern sounds like. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Now let's listen to what the Ganza pattern sounds like. Ganza advanced. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. So you could use these more advanced patterns in your performance. How could we add variety to our rhythms? Could we, A, create our own? B, play a different rhythm when the main groove returns? C, play more advanced patterns using semi-quavers, or D, all of the above? The answer is D. All of these things are great way to add variety to your rhythms. Now, it's your turn to prepare and practice your complete 12/8 Samba. The success criteria is follow this overall structure. Start with the intro break, then go to your main groove. Use a mid-break in the middle, then back to the main groove, and finally finish with the end break. Include a simple rhythm that outlines the beats, like the bass surdo or the caixa pattern, and then you can add some more complex rhythms on top of it. Make sure you keep a consistent tempo. Watch and listen to each other to stay in time. Make sure you start and finish together. Think about how you'll count in to ensure that you all start together. And you could practice using some of those more advanced patterns using constant semi-quavers throughout the bar with accented notes. Pause this video and spend some time preparing and practicing your complete 12/8 samba funk. Now you've spent some time working on your samba funk performance. How did you do? Let's reflect on the success of your samba funk performance. Did your performance follow that structure accurately? Did you change fluently from the main groove to the break sections? Which patterns did you include in your performance? Did you extend your performance in any way? And how did you start, finish and change sections at the right time? Pause this video and reflect on the success of your samba funk performance. In today's lesson, we've learned that although samba is commonly in 4/4, it can also be performed with a 12/8 groove. 12/8 has four groups of three quavers giving a lilting swaying feel. Beats divided into three create something called compound time. Samba drums have a range of timbres depending on how they're played, including playing a rim or muting the sound. You can also use different techniques such as a flam. We have performed a main groove for a 12/8 samba funk, including a break that uses a crescendo to build the excitement. Well done for your samba funk performance in today's lesson. I'll see you again in the next one.