Berimbau solo

[MrJDFrog]

Do you have any details on the tuning mechanism modifications you made posted online anywhere? Listening to this has got my inspirational juices flowing this morning! I'm especially impressed by the way you used the mic stand to stand up the bass tone berimbau, as this has got me thinking of all kinds of possibilities with a couple tuned berimbau on stands for adding grace notes. Thanks so much for putting this out there.

[001Tara1]

Sempre esperando e tentando de tocar este instrumento dificil! The hardest thing about it is balancing the durn thing. Great video.

Building one, someone comments? In Salvador, they tell me that the wire part is made out of the wire in radial tires. You can't just go to your hardware store and use plain old wire. Kinda hard to get radial tires stripped for the wire here, so I bought a bunch of extra strings (arame) there and brought 'em back.

[gmendilow]

@001Tara1 yes, nowadays the arame is from the inside of a car tire. You can also use piano wire but it doesn't sound quite the same. Tire wire is difficult to get out of the tire - it takes a lot of work with a knife. You can get old tires at a junk yard, or just find them on the side of the road somewhere.

Or your neighbor's driveway.

Don't tell them I said this.

[001Tara1]

Fala serio! I actually asked Big O Tires if they could strip those tires you turn in when you're getting new ones -- they laughed and said it would cost way more than the value of the tire. So, I guess ya just gotta go to Salvador, to the Mercado Modelo, and get some for around $2 each. While you're there, listen to the berimbau music and watch the capoeira on the back (west) side of the market building, and sip a caipirinha.

Or, find one in your neighbor's driveway!

[gmendilow]

@001Tara1 I know which one I'd pick.

See you on the beach!

[001Tara1]

Eu tambem! O mais importante e a caipirinha; claro. (com apologia a berimbau!)

[gmendilow]

Hey, thanks all for checking this video out. Had no idea it would get watched at all. I feel like I owe you guys another one now...this feels like a long time ago.

Thanks for taking the time to view.

[MegaSathan]

eu so brasileiro eu toco biribau a 15 anos acho engraçado ver um gringo tocando nosso strumento

[DickieM92]

Berimbau rock n roll? Cool!

[radiooctaves]

Excellent job

[TheSiteOffice]

this is capoeira!! are u a cowboy? you'll play naked dude

[gmendilow]

@TheSiteOffice wow! Thanks for the great post!! Definitely made me smile.

So, you got it right man - the berimbau is the principal instrument of capoeira. But as an instrument it is also much older and very much more prolific - the musical bow is the oldest and most common string prototype on the planet!

No, not a cowboy. Sometimes I feel like I herd cats though. Cat boy?

As for playing naked: they don't allow that sort of thing on Youtube. You'll have to come to a show to see for yourself.;-)

[jh70ny]

carai gringo tu manda muito bem, congratulações

[MisterBaAcKiTcH]

Out of this world.

Thank you.

[maciek9O]

So, if this song is in the album of Septura, how is it called?

Sorry, for my poor writing, but I'm from Poland ;)

[JackyRowe]

Wow, you can really rock out on one of those!! I'm getting one, it's got to be done!

[gmendilow]

@JackyRowe don't get one. Build one. Talk to me if you need to learn how. You can build one in 45 minutes as long as you have the right ingredients.

[JackyRowe]

@gmendilow Actually, yeah, i've been looking into them, and they look pretty simple to build. My friend cash would be able to help too, seeing as he makes musical instruments such as double basses and all that out of scrap. If i send you my hotmail address, could we discuss things over there? Thanks for your help!

[gmendilow]

@JackyRowe sure! go ahead and email me at guy {at} guymendilow . com and we'll take things from there. Glad to help in whatever way I can.

[thethirteenthraven]

Very awesome dude! Slick setting up to play two at once. But I'm really interested in how U managed to amplify it 0.0 I've never seen anything like it. Is it hooked up to a bass amp somehow? I saw you had never heard of Sepultura, check them out and also try Soulfly, which is the band that the singer (and berimbau player) of sepultura formed when he quit that band. Songs Back to the primitive, bleed, and in memory of you come to mind for Bau playing. Bitchin hat btw =D

[gmendilow]

@thethirteenthraven: The amplification is something I've been working on for a while. The long and short of it is that I have an inexpensive lavaliere mic inside the gourd as well as a piezzo pick-up, mounted to a metal saddle (with leather on the inside, to dampen the metallic ring). These run into a small mixer and blended there. I add a bit of EQ to bring out the gourd thump (the bass drum sound) and compression to even the thump with the string sound. It's a miracle it doesn't explode.

[Katzenjammer58]

Funkayyy!! I like the percussive effect with the gourd. Nice technique.

[gmendilow]

@Katzenjammer58 Thanks! Much appreciated

[JustAluno]

your berimbau sounds so deep

did you enlarged the "cabaca"(gourd)???

if you didnt do that,,please let me now wthat did you do.

and,,dude,,capoeira world really could use that good berimbau player!

AXE!

greetings form capoeira amazonas croatia.

(sorry for bad grammar :SS xDD

[gmendilow]

@JustAluno Gourd is just a medio. I do tune it low, though. I and a luthier created our own tuning system, and have been experimenting with different ways to get the instrument lower.

Man, I could really use the capoiera world! That's where I got my start but it's been a long time since I've played.

Axe!

[Phernandustrong]

A CONGRATILATIONS FROM BRASIL!!! 

[gmendilow]

@Phernandustrong Muito obrigado!

[SamiAruanda]

this was absolutely not what I was expecting :) awesome in a completely different way

[baixinhoFDB]

Wow, awsome playing!

[cobaiatemorozo]

Brazilian instrument

fucking awsome

[gmendilow]

@cobaiatemorozo yeah!!

Did you know the musical bow is not just from Brazil though? It's the oldest and most common string instrument on the planet. Just about every place that ever used a bow and arrow (short bow, long bow, etc) also made music with it.

That said, I did learn to build in Brazil. These ones were built in Salvador. I got my start through Capoeira...

[gmendilow]

@Saxon72 Cool! As far as I knew this was straight improv, as I was making it up as I went. But you know how the mind works, especially subconsciously.

Never heard of Sepultura. Can you point my way to them? Especially the album of which you speak?

Cheers, GJM

[Glockershit]

F*CKING AMAZING! Please be my teacher!

[PeaceWings]

Beautiful!!!!

[shirleystemple]

I sure hope to be able to "just mess around" with the berimbau like that, eventually, myself.

Fantastic.

[molliesmaguire]

incredible

[kellyM1001]

beautiful!

[kellyM1001]

beautiful!

[deciogunga]

Muito bom!!!

É um berimbau de respeito.

Grande som...

[JoannaYulia]

Thanks, this was very inspiring me

[magnetkitty]

that was interesting even wat ur wearin plays a role.

[Boogieforme]

You can actually hear some overtones :) nice instrument!

[avivagabriel]

One of the best berimbau-listening experiences I've ever had, bar none! Fantastic musicianship here. Yes!

[CapoeiraLifestyle]

Damn...that was cool.

'cause I play capoeira, I don't get to hear the berimbaus being played in different ways, but you kick ass with your style.

Respect.