History of the Surdo
WHO INVENTED THE SURDO?
The surdo was invented by Alcebíades Barcelos - (Bide) in Estacio de Sa in Rio de Janeiro and was first used in Rio carnival in 1928, in the parade of the first ever samba school, Deixa Falar.
WHAT INSPIRED BIDE TO INVENT THE SURDO?
In the mid 19th century a shoemaker named Ze Pereira famously took to the streets in carnival with a bumba military style bass drum. The image of this large portuguese gentleman, in a white shirt, with a bass drum strapped in front of his belly, had become a traditional caricature in Rio newspapers, and this image probably inspired Bide.
WHY WAS THE SURDO DRUM SO SUCCESSFUL?
Before the surdo was used in samba there wasn't a big, loud bass samba drum loud enough to hold the beat and be heard by everyone. The main percussion instrumets in samba were agogo, ganza, chocalho, reco- reco, cavaquinho and cuica. There were no samba drums built to hold a strong simple beat.
With its simple, strong rhythm the surdo drum was an immediate sucess. It allowed everyone to keep in time to the music and gave harmony and unity to the carnival parade.
The surdo was invented by Alcebíades Barcelos - (Bide) in Estacio de Sa in Rio de Janeiro and was first used in Rio carnival in 1928, in the parade of the first ever samba school, Deixa Falar.
WHAT INSPIRED BIDE TO INVENT THE SURDO?
In the mid 19th century a shoemaker named Ze Pereira famously took to the streets in carnival with a bumba military style bass drum. The image of this large portuguese gentleman, in a white shirt, with a bass drum strapped in front of his belly, had become a traditional caricature in Rio newspapers, and this image probably inspired Bide.
WHY WAS THE SURDO DRUM SO SUCCESSFUL?
Before the surdo was used in samba there wasn't a big, loud bass samba drum loud enough to hold the beat and be heard by everyone. The main percussion instrumets in samba were agogo, ganza, chocalho, reco- reco, cavaquinho and cuica. There were no samba drums built to hold a strong simple beat.
With its simple, strong rhythm the surdo drum was an immediate sucess. It allowed everyone to keep in time to the music and gave harmony and unity to the carnival parade.