| Apito |  | A colourful plastic whistle on a cord. It has three different tones. Played by the leader to signal when there is going to be a change to the rhythm or instrument(s) playing. It is also used to count-in a groove or fill, or to notify instructions to the various sections in the band. |
| Agogo |  |
Two-tone twin hand-held bells struck with a stick. Brazilian double bell which became very popular in the 1950s bossa bands and is based on west African double iron bells. |
| Tamborim |  | Hand-held 6" single sided very high-pitched drum, struck with a special flexy stick. Tuned to a very high pitch and often played very fast with a clave or cross rhythm, |
| Repinique |  | Very loud high-pitched drum, played with sticks or nylon wands. 12" head diameter. This drum usually plays the calls for the grooves, and often plays variations of the groove. The word repinique comes from the verb “to call”, so it is the calling drum.
Can be played with one stick and one hand Rio-style, or with two whippy sticks samba-reggae style, or with two sticks FaT Samba style!. |
| Caixa |  |
A Brazilian snare drum, 12" head diameter, with two or three pairs of guitar strings for snares and played with the snares wires on top. The word “Caixa” really means a type of box, but in Brazilian percussion it is the word for a double-headed snare drum. These are in the part of the band which holds the basic rhythm together, accenting the clave or producing cross rhythms with the rest of the band. In Brazil they are played at angles which would surprise some English players, even under the armpit or on the shoulder. |
| Surdos |  | These are the big bass drums. Surdo in Portuguese means “deaf” or “deaf man”. Surdos are the markers and timekeepers of the bateria. We have three of these tuned to different pitches. In Rio the low surdo is called Maracasao, the mid surdo is called Resposta and the high surdo is called Contra surdo or Repinique surdo. The beat is held together by the Maracasao and Resposta and the Contra surdo gives it an extra swing. Surdos are a modern, urban version of older styles of bass drum.
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Low Surdo No.1 |  | 20" or 22" head diameter. The largest and lowest-pitched surdo bass drum.
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| Medium Surdo No.2 |  | 18" head diameter. The middle-sized and middle-pitched bass drum. |
| High Surdo No.3 |  |
16" head diameter. The smallest, and highest-pitched surdo drum.
More complex rhythms to play than the other surdo drums. |
| Chocalho shaker |  | Loud shaker. A rectangular frame holding rows of mini cymbals. These are metal shakers which give the “cricket in the background” sound. The chocalho is a heavy metal structure with rows of jingles - good for people who want to develop strong biceps. These look easy to play but in fact are very difficult to play well and are a good substitute for weight training. |
| Shekere |  | A hollow gourd shaker with beads. Used in maracatu rhythms |
| Cowbell |  | Hand-held, played with a stick. |
| Timba |  | Tall drum played with hands. The timba is the high-pitched hand drum from Bahia and pernambuco, played like a conga or atabaque. It is another leading drum which can be used for long crackling solos. Technique used to play timba is similar to djembe technique. |
| Gongue |  | Giant loud cowbell, played with a stick, mostly for Maracatu grooves. |
| Cuica |  | The cuíca is a Brazilian friction drum with a large pitch range, produced by changing tension on the head of the drum. Cuíca is Portuguese for the gray four-eyed opossum which is known for its high-pitched cry. The tone it produces has a high-pitched squeaky timbre. |
