Samba

    The music class I'm taking here is all about traditional Brazilian music, Samba and Choro, and since I'm used to taking only business classes every quarter at DU, I'm loving learning about something a little more artistic and creative. I've been to three classes so far, and each time we've either listened to music or watched videos about the music and instruments. The class is also at 7 at night so it puts me in a very relaxed mood where I just listen to the music and zone out a little. In the first class, the professor told us what the instruments were for samba, the African-Portuguese inspired music in Brazil, but I didn't understand how unique they were until we watched videos showing us what they are. My favorite was a cuica, which looks somewhat like a drum, but produces different high pitched squeaks that are both a little amusing and very unexpected from the look of the instrument. My other favorite was a berimbau, which looks like a bow and arrow. It consists of the musical bow with a steel string, with a hollowed and open gourd at the bottom of the bow. You use a vaqueta, or stick, against the string to make noise, and a stone against the string to change pitch. They are amazingly unique and fun to watch because I've never seen instruments like this before.The rest were different types of guitars, drums, and accordions.
    One of the articles I read for class was all about the history of Samba and it discussed the role of the "party" in society and how it is absolutely necessary because people live to socialize. It continued to explain the role of Samba within Brazil as a symbol of status, because Samba originated in the "suburbios" of Brazil, or rural and poorer towns, and is a way to express emotions and nature. It's really interesting because I don't know much about music history.
Here are two videos of my favorite instruments. They are definitely worth watching.

The berimbau
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLfFtHFuKa0

The cuica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU-hfkxljKQ