The Berimbau: Soul of Brazilian Music

A Note Regarding Musical Transcriptions

xi ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ A Note Regarding Musical Transcriptions The berimbau (musical bow) presents a complex combination of sounds comprised of pitched sounds and timbres (non-pitched sounds).1 The graphic representation of these musical sounds has posed a challenge to musicians and scholars for decades. In the 1950s, ethnomusicologist Charles Seeger2 distinguished between “prescriptive” and “descriptive” musical notation schemes. In this sense, a musical transcription could function either as a prescription for accurately reproducing all of the sounds, or as a description of the overall effect. While many notation options exist for the berimbau, Luiz D’Anunciação introduced one of the most comprehensive berimbau notation systems for performers and composers.3 This is the first scheme that rhythmically notates the gourd movement against and away from the body, and it is unique in its approach to incorporating timbre into its structure, instead of creating new symbols for each sound. Although D’Anunciação’s notation provides a means to comprehensively and systematically depict all of the sounds produced by the berimbau, it requires the ability to simultaneously read three separate staff systems. Since my goal for the musical notation in this study is to provide a brief snapshot for easy comprehension, I have modified D’Anunciação’s notational scheme in order to capture fundamental aspects of the berimbau’s music, similar in concept to a piano reduction of a complete orchestral score. My modification omits the separate functions of the left and right hands, and provides a basic schematic outline of the berimbau music. In this study, the berimbau notation is depicted on a one-line staff. The note below the line represents the freely vibrating string, or unaltered fundamental pitch of the berimbau. The note above the line represents a distinct altered fundamental pitch produced by pressing the coin ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ xii Note Regarding Musical Transcriptions firmly against the string. The note that appears on the line represents an indeterminate buzz sound. In special cases, I include a second line that depicts overtly exaggerated sounds produced by the gourd movement against and away from the body (see T x.1).4 I have made special accommodations for new techniques, such as in the case of Dinho Nascimento’s music, where I depict the berimbau on a conventional five-line staff, with a separate one-line staff for the caxixi (small basket rattle). I have maintained a separate single-line caxixi staff for Ramiro Musotto’s solo of “La Danza del Tezcatlipoca Rojo.” In this case, the caxixi has been moved to the electronic sequencer and functions as a modified audible click track. When timing marks appear in transcriptions (e.g. 1:45), they correspond with the specific location in the original sound recording. Transcription x.1: Key to musical notation ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ The Berimbau This page intentionally left blank ...