The berimbau is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, from Brazil. The berimbau's origins are not entirely clear, but there is not much doubt on its African origin, as no Indigenous Brazilian or European people use musical bows, and very similar instruments are played in the southern parts of Africa. The berimbau was eventually incorporated into the practice Capoeira, where it commands how the capoeiristas move in the roda. The instrument is also a part of Candomblé-de-caboclo tradition.

Design

The berimbau consists of a wooden bow (verga traditionally made from biriba wood, which grows in Brazil), about 4 to 5 feet long (1.2 to 1.5 m), with a steel string (arame: often pulled from the inside of an automobile tire) tightly strung and secured from one end of the verga to the other. A gourd (cabaça), dried, opened and hollowed-out, attached to the lower portion of the verga by a loop of tough string, acts as a resonator.

To play the berimbau, one holds it in one hand, wrapping the two middle fingers around the verga, and placing the little finger under the cabaça's string loop (the "anel"), and balancing the weight there. A small stone or coin (dobrão) is held between the index and thumb of the same hand that holds the berimbau. The cabaça is rested against the abdomen. In the other hand, one holds a stick (baqueta: usually wooden, very rarely made of metal) and a shaker (caxixi). One strikes the arame with the baqueta to produce the sound. The caxixi accompanies the baqueta. The dobrão is moved back and forth from the arame to change the tone of the berimbau. The sound can also be altered by moving the cabaça back and forth from the abdomen, producing a wah-like sound.
Capoeiristas split berimbaus in three categories:

• Berra-boi or gunga: lowest tone.
• Médio: medium tone.
• Viola: highest tone

These categories relate to sound, not to size. The berimbau's quality does not depend on the length of the verga or the size of the cabaça, rather on the diameter and hardness of the verga's wood and the quality of the cabaça.

Sound

The berimbau, as played for capoeira, basically has three sounds: the open string sound, the high sound, and the buzz sound.
In capoeira, up to three Berimbaus may play together, each with a loosely defined role:
The gunga plays the bass line, rarely improvising its rhythm. The person playing the gunga at the beginning of a roda is often the leader of the roda and the other instruments follow as well. The gunga player may also lead the singing. The gunga is used to call players to the pé-do-berimbau (foot of the berimbau, where players enter the game).
The médio complements the gunga. The dialog between gunga and viola (or médio) gives the toque its character. In the context of capoeira angola, the médio inverts the gunga's melody with moderate improvisation.
The viola plays mostly variations and improvisations on the main rhythm defined by the two others. The viola player will often syncopate and break to accentuate the songs. There are several different rhythms or toques played on the berimbau.