What Is A Surdo Drum? - Samba Instruments
What Is A Surdo Drum? - Samba Instruments
What is a surdo drum?
The surdo is a large cylindrical bass drum used in Brazilian music, mostly in samba and other Afro-Brazilian rhythms such as Samba-reggae/Axé. It is worn around the waist or strung from the shoulders as surdo bands march through the streets during festivals and carnivals.
What does a surdo drum look like?
The cylindrical surdo drum varies in diameter from 40cm to 73cm. In Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, they are typically 60cm deep, however, in other parts of Brazil they can be as shallow as 50cm.
Generally, the outside of the surdo is made from wood, fibreglass or aluminium whereas the head is made from a thick and durable material such as goatskin or plastic.
Samba drumming workshops
Grooving with a samba group can be a fun and enriching experience, even if you’ve never picked a drum in your life. At Unbeatable Energy, we’ve shared our love for samba with communities, schools and businesses from across the UK for almost two decades! Get in touch today by clicking the button below to learn more about our nationwide samba drumming classes.
What does the surdo drum sound like?
The sound of the surdo is characterized by a deep and powerful low-frequency tone, which provides the rhythmic foundation for samba. The drummer can play a variety of patterns and rhythms on the surdo, using different techniques with the mallet or beater to produce a range of energising sounds, from short and staccato to long and sustained.
It is really satisfying to play. Each vibrational beat resonates through your body. Check out our video below of Steve Rivers leading an energised group of students at a school workshop!
Want a great djembe ‘Tone’ sound? It’s all about the way you lift your hand
Want a great djembe ‘Tone’ sound? It’s all about the way you lift your hand
If you have just started learning the African djembe, you may be feeling frustrated with the sound you’re creating on the side of the drum. Perhaps you are wondering why it is that whenever you attempt to make the tone, you get a flat dead muted note. If you’re experiencing this frustration, try focusing more on the way you lift your hand, than the way it falls on the drum. Any unnecessary movement in the joints, fingers and wrist as you lift your hand will affect the quality of your tone.
Raising your hand to strike the drum, the tips of your fingers need to be the first thing that lifts up with the rest of the hand, wrist and arm following behind. Imagine you’re a string puppet and there is a cord attached to the very tips of your fingers. As the imaginary cord lifts, your fingers come up first and everything else follows. Doing this sets you up to strike the ‘tone spot’ on the djembe with the right angle so fingers bounce off easily. As your hand and fingers come back down for the strike, your fingers will be slightly raised at a 30 degree angle and land gracefully on the tone spot of the drum. If your fingers are relaxed and not tense (more on finger relaxation soon), they will bounce off the drum creating a beautiful resonance for your tone. But the point is not to think about the way your hand and fingers drop – it is the way you lift which matters.
You can see a djembe lesson video here:
The difference between a ‘good lift’ and a ‘bad lift’ can be very subtle. It is really about which part of the hand/arm lifts first. Here are a couple of examples of what can go wrong as you lift your hand to play:
1. Dropped wrist technique
As you raise your hand to strike a tone, your wrist might lift up first with your hand hanging on behind. Because your hand has been in this hanging position, your fingers will be projected forward as they fall to the drum, striking the ‘tone spot’ at the wrong angle. Instead of the fingers landing in a flat position, the projected angle of the fingers will absorb the bounce and press into the skin giving you a dull closed note without any resonance.
There is alternative outcome to this scenario with the ‘dropped’ wrist. When you raise your ‘hanging hand’ to the optimum height, you may flick the wrist back so that the fingers don’t project forward as they come down. The problem with this is technique is it creates too much movement between the arm and the hand as you play. Any unnecessary movement in the hand will sap your energy, hindering your ability to play with control and maintain stamina when playing for prolonged periods. However, the main issue is that this flick of the wrist at the top will potentially create a ‘slap’ sound instead of a tone – not a good ‘slap’ but a bad slap without any control or subtlety.
2. Dropped finger technique
This technique is far subtler than the wrist one – and hence harder to detect and correct. In this scenario the wrist is fine. It is not interfering as the you lift and in general the hand is lifting first. But there is just the slightest drop in the fingers as the hand lifts up. You may barley notice it, but it can make all the difference. Usually in this scenario the knuckles are lifting first – either the fore knuckles or the front ones. In the same way as the wrist technique (but this time less acute) the fingers project forward and absorb the bounce to give you the same flat sound without tone resonance.
How to improve your lift movement
If you think you might have fallen in to one of these habits and you are getting frustrated with your sound, here is a fun way to apply a nice ‘fingertip lift’ technique. Rest your hands on the side of the drum with your fingertips in contact with the ‘tone’ spot of the drum. If you don’t know where this is, check out our blog on hand positioning). Then lift the fingers up (really make sure your fingers up first) and do a ‘hiya’ with your hand. The hand just lifts up and come sown again. If you are with a group, you can all get really silly and start doing ‘hiya’ gestures with each other. Invariably this hand sign involves the fingers lifting up first so this gesture will trick your hand into applying the lift of the finger tips. With a little practise, this gesture will form a new habit in your hand movement which over time you will unconsciously apply to your tone technique.
I understand there is a counter argument to this technique that the arm and hand should remain as one unit and be straight. With the fingertips lifting first, the hand and the arm will not necessarily be straight and there will be some movement in the wrist. However, I don’t think there is really any problem in there being some wrist movement when djembe playing – what is important is the way it moves. With this ‘fingers first’ technique your wrist will be involved with lifting the hand up but will not interfere in a way that detriments your technique.
The other thing to recognise is the movement in tone and slap becomes far subtler as your technique improves. This means that this application of hand and arm technique may be highly pronounced when you first start to practise but will be less exaggerated over time.
I hope this blog helps you on your journey in mastering the djembe tone sound and I hope the exercise proves useful. At the very least – it’s nice to just say ‘Hiya!’
Receive further djembe tuition videos on our Youtube channel. We have a great series of video called Djembe for absolute Beginners:
Drum Team Building – it’s great to be back in business!
Beginners Djembe Drum 'Ice Cream' Rhythm
I know it has been said already by thousands of businesses the length and breadth of the country, but I will say it again – it is so amazing and such a relief to be back to near normality once again. It is fantastic to be able to meet people face to face. To talk to a real person and have a real conversation without anyone’s screen freezing or people being muted. And to drum live with other people – that is something I vow never to take for granted again. The theme of this month’s blog is gratitude; because for all the people and things we lost in this terrible year, for many of us a sense of gratitude has been gained.
Our event for Hightown Housing Association was planned and booked in January 2020; two months before the pandemic. Like so many other events, it was delayed again and again over the course of 18 months. Finally on the fifth attempt, it really happened! So last month nearly 250 of the Hightown’s staff came together at Shendish Manor in Hemel Hamptead to take part in their ‘Connect’ day – a special event for staff to have a well-earned rest from their work agendas and take part in a series of fun, creative activities with the company of other colleagues. As you can expect we were providing the ‘unbeatable energy’ with a series of interactive drumming and percussion group sessions.
Throughout the day we ran three big African Drumming Team Building workshops, each for 50-60 participants, plus a big post-lunch ice breaker where everyone participated in a percussion activity using our harmonic ‘Boomwhacker’ percussion tubes.
I had forgotten how exhilarating the sound is from a big group drum session. In the African drumming team workshops, you could feel the rumbling, vibrating bass of the djembes and dundun drums in your belly. You do not get that via Zoom or YouTube! As is always the case, with the support of the big group playing together it was easy for everyone to access and feel the beat. Only minutes into the session, the West African rhythms were in full swing. In fact, it wasn’t long before some of the participants were on their feet dancing!
In the ‘Boomwhacker Energiser’ session it was extraordinary to hear 250 people all playing in synchronicity throughout the room: fusing multiple patterns into one giant musical sound. Who could imagine this had been achieved by the group in only 10 minutes!
So how did such musical magic happen in such a short space of time? I think it is safe to say that everyone was so happy to be out of lockdown and so grateful to interact with others, that the entire group of delegates were always fully engaged throughout. There was no complacency present. All the activities on offer gave everyone a much needed sense of release as reservations were let go of and group positivity prevailed. For corporate events it is rare to see so many participants dance to the rhythms being created. Participants are so enthralled by the rhythms that they really want to get up and dance, but it is often hard to overcome the shyness that comes with dancing in front of other colleagues. That so many felt able to let down their guard and participate, just showed how positive the atmosphere was and how safe everyone felt to express their joy of the music. I very much felt it too.
“SO glad we finally managed to make this happen!! Well worth the wait. The drumming circles were amazing and SO many staff have already commented that they and the Boomwhackers were the highlight of their day! Thanks for the energy”
If your organisation needs to re-connect, please contact us to discuss how we can help.
Why should an African Drumming class perform?
Why should an African Drumming class perform?
I have been running regular African Drumming evening classes in Sheffield now for 25 years! The weekly classes remain an enjoyable mid-week activity, however working towards polished pieces and a performance heightens the sense of personal fulfilment, achievement and appreciation. For both myself and the students the performance becomes a crucial motivator on the wonderful journey of music making.
Last month the students from our class performed their very first 30-minute performance set comprised of multiple rhythm and break patterns which have been orchestrated into three musical pieces.
You can see the result here:
Video guide:
1st Piece “Degu Degu Racca Racca” 00:09
2nd Piece “Soko Moolan Chegin Jarafoli” 11:22;
3rd Piece “Kassa Musolu Jarafoli” 22:30.
Musical sources and inspiration: Songalo Coulibaly, Iya Sako; Hans Sutton; Sidiki Dembele; Babara Bangoura; Moudou Diouf.
The Diversity Festival runs every year in Sheffield and is a free celebration of unity and mutual respect between Sheffield’s many communities, for people of every gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age and ability. Find out more here
So how does performing to the public enhance the experience for students? Here is what some of our students have said:
Amy:
“Performing at gigs makes me feel alive! Creating an electric, energetic atmosphere for people of all ages to enjoy makes me feel like all the practice is worth it. It puts all the learning to the test and gives me a great sense of achievement.
It’s so good to know that we do gives others immense enjoyment 🙂 whether that’s dancing to us, drumming on the tables with us or tapping their feet to the beat :)”
Louise:
“Drumming classes with Steve are always fantastic fun and highly energising. However, the fact that we’re gradually working towards a live performance makes them even more exciting. Steve has a charismatic teaching style and always pitches the classes just right, ensuring that both beginners and more advanced drummers are contributing. The performances we’ve done over the last year have been great and it’s always so good to see the response from the audience. As a group we were particularly proud of the latest one we’ve done, which included 3 pieces that we’ve learnt over quite a long period of time. The atmosphere on the day was brilliant and there was such a sense of camaraderie with all our fellow drummers in terms of what we’d achieved. I only discovered drumming just over a year ago and wish I had sooner – it’s just the best tonic for lifting your spirits, which for most of us with busy lives is an absolute essential!”
When someone asked me about why I put these performance pieces together I told them,
“The class we run on Thursday nights has been gigging more regularly for the last year after a period of sporadic short one-off sets at charity events. Although these were valuable showcases and entertaining, the performances had no on-going development or legacy. This year, after having done some short performances at various local events, I realised how much I loved composing and arranging.
With such a devoted passionate group of students, I decided it would be great to keep everything we were performing alive so we could build a repertoire. This is the result so far – our first 30 minute set comprising three tracks; each of which is a sort of 3-groove sandwich with funky breaks in between.
This gig I know will be the first of many, but it has been a big milestone in the group’s development and has provided a massive boost of confidence and self-belief.”
Steve Rivers, class teacher and Unbeatable Energy director.
Our African Drumming classes take place every Thursday night in Sheffield City Centre. You don’t need to become part of the performance group to become part of the class and you don’t need any prior experience of drumming or music making. All drums are provided. Over the weeks you will learn the sounds, breaks and techniques towards arrangements which can culminate in a performance. African Drumming is highly invigorating, therapeutic, social and very addictive! Why not come and join us this Thursday! Click here for full details and to book your place.
Lets learn an African Song - 'Sunumba' from the Sunu rhythm, Mali
Lets learn an African Song - 'Sunumba' from the Sunu rhythm, Mali
Fancy learning an African drumming song? This was one I learnt a couple of years back after attending an African Drumming course with UK teacher Hans Sutton. Watch and listen to the song here:
I have transcribed the words against the Sunu dundun rhythm as follows:
The X = bell beat; circle indicates open dundun beat; a ‘C’ indicates a closed dundun beat; / = space in pattern.
Disclaimer: Transcription does not account for the subtleties of the sunu swing.
According to Hans Sutton, the song translates as:
Ah, where’s Sununba? Eh, Sunun can’t be found. Suffering isn’t your enemy; death is your enemy.
Eh, there is no God but God, Eh, and Mohammed is his prophet, Eh, In the name of God, Eh, In the name of the prophet, Eh, Who must we thank? Let the great man Sununba be thanked.
Ah, to reach old age is sweet, Eh, Jeneba Tera; Suffering isn’t your enemy; Dearth is your enemy.
Sunu is a rhythm played by the Kagoro people in Kaarta, Mali, West Africa. The original source is from Ibrahim Sarr, “Porte 386 Medina Coura.
Enjoy the song! Find out more about our African Drumming classes here.
Free boomwhacker rhythm for primary school teachers
Free boomwhacker rhythm for primary school teachers
It’s nearly Christmas and we like to be organised! So here is a present to all the primary school teachers who might need some inspiration for their class music sessions or impending school concert. Here is a video with a break down of parts from one of our new boomwhacker rhythm pieces:
The rhythm consists of eight rhythm parts and in the video we outline the colours and notation so you get the right harmonic mix. With a bit of practise an upper KS2 class should be able to compile all the parts, but you can take some of the musical dialogues in isolation to provide ample fun music material for younger children. So if you are a teacher from a primary school with a neglected boomwhacker set sitting in your cupboard collecting dust – now is a great reason to take them out and get your children boomwhacking!
We hope you are inspired by this piece. If you are, please feel free to ‘share’, ‘comment’ and ‘like’ the video. In the meantime we have lots more rhythms and tips to share, so do get in touch if you need some Unbeatable Energy action with boomwhackers at your school. We would love to help!
A creative way of teaching Songs: the song helmet
A creative way of teaching Songs: the song helmet
What do you need if you wish to hold up a banner to teach a group the words to an African song, but want to use the same hands to play a backing rhythm on a djembe? Well, you need the new ‘Song Helmet’ of course! Made with only the most authentic materials acquired from the local skip, this is the must have for any self-respecting drum teacher in 2015. Make your order now!
What do you need if you are a drumming teacher and you wish to provide a banner to teach a group the words to an African song , but want to use the same hands that are holding up the banner to play a backing rhythm on a djembe?
Baga Gine
The song being taught was Baga Gine, a West African song by Famadou Konate. It’s a song about a woman who hears some music and can’t help but dance!
A boron ma? Ma boron ma? Yee!
A boron ma? Ma boron ma? Yee!
A boron ma? Ma boron ma? Yee!
E laila! Baga Gine
Fare boron ma woto kui! Eee!
If you would like any more inspiration, please get in touch!
5 reasons to have an African drumming team building event at your conference...
5 reasons to have an African drumming team building event at your conference...
If you’ve never been to one of our workshops before, you might never have considered why a drumming workshop could be a useful thing to have at a conference.
Here’s five reasons why they can help make your conference a success:
1. They reduce stress hormones
Blood samples taken before and after drumming sessions show that stress hormones had been significantly reduced. When stress is high, the body’s ability to create cells for the immune system is decreased – so reducing stress boosts your defenses and improves your overall health.
This effect is immediate, so it makes drumming a great way to quickly refresh a large group of people: just what’s needed at the start of a conference!
2. They ground you in the present moment
Drumming is all about timing and co-ordination. It also requires a different way of thinking to our general daily thought processes. These factors force the participant to be focused on the present, which is highly therapeutic. It’s a great way to eliminate the build-up of negative feelings from a stressful morning. It also helps to diminish anxieties about the future. This can really help to relax delegates who may be feeling agitated!
3. They release endorphins
Simply put: drumming is fun. It has been shown to release endorphins in the brain, which trigger feelings of happiness and euphoria. It’s a great way to get rid of boredom, restlessness and disinterest in conference delegates. We always find that delegates are far more engaged, enthusiastic and responsive in conferences following a workshop. If you don’t believe us, just look at the before and after responses participants gave us after a recent corporate event.
4. They boost physical energy
As well as giving a great mental boost, drumming gives your body a good wake up call. It’s a physically demanding activity that increases your blood flow and adrenaline. As well as feeling refreshed, delegates often tell us that they enter a conference feeling tired and then feel completely energised. That’s why we think a drumming session after the lunch break in a longer conference is a great idea: no more afternoon slump!
5. They build a sense of community
Over the years, we’ve received so many comments from people who were at first skeptical of the team-building power of drumming workshops. They had all changed their minds! Group percussion has been a part of worldwide traditions for thousands of years for a good reason: it’s a great community builder. It teaches us to work together, to listen to each other, and achieve common goals, and provides the shared reward of an exhilarating musical sound. It’s a way of illustrating that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Individual rhythms may sound strange or disjointed, but together they create a rich, powerful sound. A great metaphor for working life!
Our drumming workshops rely on co-operation. This helps promote a sense of equality between delegates on different managerial levels, and builds relationships between workers who might not usually interact. In fact, drumming is much easier as a group. It may seem a big challenge to ask delegates with no musical experience to take part – but as more and more rhythms are added, the music can start to sound more stable and become easier to play!
We often show people what happens when a large group plays just one rhythm together. Invariably, the rhythm speeds up and turns into a ‘musical stampede.’ Different rhythms are needed for the music to work. Steve loves bringing this to the forefront in conference ice breakers (especially with boomwhackers) because it shows how individual roles in business organisations have a purpose for the wider organisations’ achievements. It offers a really powerful motivational message!
We’ve been doing this for over 20 years. If you have a business event coming up and think we could help, we’d love to hear from you!
Contact Us or visit our main Corporate Events page to find out more.
How to inspire a rebellious pupil through African drumming!
How to inspire a rebellious pupil through African drumming!
As we’re sure the teachers and parents reading will understand, inspiring children to co-operate doesn’t always go quite to plan!
At a recent drumming workshop for year 2 students, I very soon realised that one pupil was a heckler. I don’t have a set method for dealing with these situations, but I am determined to work positively with pupils whose agendas may be different to mine! This time I really managed to turn it around.
This pupil was typically rebellious and defiant. While the class were trying to keep in time to a rhythm, he was playing something completely different. When everybody stopped together, he would tumble some stray beats which would spoil the clean finish. Of course, this could be an innocent mistake – but after trying the exercise a few times, the pupil’s grin made it quite clear it was deliberate.
Getting through to him…
I wasn’t cross. I told him, “The drumming isn’t about you, it’s about all of us.” Instead of scolding him, I explained that his desire to stand out was making things difficult for others, and that his contribution was essential to make the rhythm work. He then played really well and in time with all of us!
Then it all got tricky again. I introduced some arm choreography to the drumming rhythm, which he did in a very ‘crazy manic’ way. Again, I explained to him that we needed him ‘back with us’ instead of drifting into his own world. He seemed to think this an intervention too far and I was worried! I actually liked his crazy wild spirit – I just wanted to find a way to channel that into playing with the group, not against it.
Different means of expression!
For a while I’d lost him. He disengaged, fed up with being picked on. I hoped the dancing might bring him back, so I asked the whole class to stand up and dance freestyle while I played. He sulked for a few minutes and then started doing punches and karate kicks. I let him be, trying to avoid any more interventions.
Instead, I spoke to the whole class and asked if anybody wanted “to express themselves through their dance in the middle of the drum circle.” The pupil spoke up, saying, “like being angry?”
This was fantastic! He was back. I said that as long as he didn’t hurt anybody, he could be as angry as he wanted… so he did a very enthusiastic ‘angry dance’ in the circle. This inspired other children to have a go at expressing themselves. I think once he realised that it was fine for him to be angry, he could express other feelings too.
So what can we learn from this?
Firstly – everybody brings different stories and feelings with them to their drumming workshops. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t fit in. This kid was like a storm, but it was great we found a way together for him to channel his feelings into a productive part of the session. It helped him realise that he could be other things apart from being angry and rebellious, and helped him to feel less like the ‘outsider.’
It was also a learning experience from our perspective. It’s easy to get frustrated with a rebellious member of a session like this, but rather than forcing him to co-operative (which definitely would have failed) it was far more effective to keep calm and find a way to appeal to him.
Read more about our educational workshops.
