Berimbau music is almost synonomous with capoeira as Berimbau is a symbol of capoeira.

It "commands the circle", and determines the kind of game (angola, regional, etc.) controling the "jogo" (game) within the Roda by playing the appropriate toque. Toques are called the rhythms produced by the berimbau.

The berimbau is made of a hard wooden bow, known as a verga and is strung with a steel wire called an arame. The wood used comes from a brazilian tree called "berimba".

The parts of a berimbau are a gourd known as cabaça or calabaça, a caxixi (a rattle), a wooden stick (baqueta) and a dobrão (coin) or a pedra (stone). The pedra or dobrão is pressed against the arame (the metal string attached to the bow) and by hitting it with the baqueta it produces different notes.

There are 3 types of berimbau:

Gunga - Keeps the rhythm and plays the basic tune, Angola.

Medio - Compliments the Gunga by maintaining the rhythm, São Bento Pequeno.

Viola - Has the sharpest sound, it is responsible for the the improvisation
of the tune the Gunga creates, São Bento Grande.