Music

Capoeira music is played on specific instruments, and the songs are traditional. Entire musical band is called "bateria". Basic capoeira instrument, berimbau, leads the rest of the instruments and controls the speed of music, and game. Berimbau is played by hitting the steel wire with a "baqueta" (a thin wooden stick) with a coin pressed against the steel wire. Usually, there are three berimbaus in a bateria, each playing in a different tonality. Another rythmical instrument is pandeiro (similar to tambourine), its sound enriched by aluminum coins. A large drum, "atabaque", has an important role of keeping the rythm steady. Other instruments usually found in capoeira baterias are agogo and reco-reco.

Most commonly, bateria is consisted of three berimbaus, two pandeiros, an atabaque, an agogo and a reco-reco, but it can be different, depending on the school or the number of participants in the roda. Since all instruments are percussive, capoeira music has strong rythm and is very dynamical. All songs are in portuguese and they usually relay a message to the players or tell a story about a significant historical event. Participants in a capoeira roda form a circle within which the game takes place.