Music

What makes Capoeira distinct from most martial arts is that it is accompanied by music.  The music is considered by many to be the spirit of Capoeira.  Music is played while fighters or practitioners fight or train and the music dictates the speed, intensity, and energy of the fight.  Fighters in the circle move to the rhythm of the music and allow it to guide them in their fight or dance, this is why music is such and important and necessary component of capoeira.  The instrument most associated with capoeira is the berimbau.  The berimbau is like a wooden bow with a steel string.  Near the end of one side of the instrument is a gourd (cabaca), which helps resonate the sound, which is produced by striking a wooden stick (baqueta) or metal object such as a coin against the steel string (arame). The person playing the berimbau generally plays a rattle type instrument (caxixi) with the hand that holds the baqueta.  Drums are also played; there are two types of drums most commonly associated with capoeira: the Atabaque and the Paneiro.  The Atabaque is the larger of the two and the Pandeiro is smaller.  The Pandeiro is basically a tambourine and generally plays a similar rhythm to the atabaque.  Then there is the agogo, which consists of two different bells, one plays a high pitch and the other is low.  The instrument is played by hitting the bells with a wooden stick (Green, 62) and (Capoeira Sul de Bahia).