In capoeira, music sets the rhythm, the style of play, and the energy of a game. In its most traditional setting, there are three main styles of song that weave together the structure of roda de capoeira.
The Ladainha
The roda commences with the ladainha (littany), a solo often sung by the most senior member/mestre present. These songs may be improvised on the spot, but are most often chosen from a number of ladainhas which have been passed on over time. The ladainha can vary from as little as two lines, to 20 or more. Topics for this song type include moral lessons of life, stories, history, mythology, and can be topical for a particular occasion as well as pure poetry.
The Chula
The chula initiates the call and response section from the members of the roda. The chula usually invokes God, Mestres, capoeira, and gives thanks.
The Corrido
Corridos are overlapping call and response typical of African singing which is thought to be heavily influenced by the Samba de Rodas of Bahia. This portion is a short song with a fairly uniform response from the members of the roda. The chorus is often indicated by the singer in the first line in the song.The corridos have the broadest melodic variation from one to the next, though many corridos share the same melodies. Thus a vast repertoire of corridos can be learned and improvisation within corridos becomes a less daunting prospect. Like the chula, the corrido response is sung in unison.
The corrido communicates with the action in the roda to inspire the players, to comment directly on the action, praise, warn, tell stories, and teache moral values. There is a corrido for welcoming the roda, for closing the roda, asking for the players to play less aggressively, more aggressively, to not grab the other person etc etc. This is why it is so important to not only be able to sing the corido, but to understand the message that is conveyed in any particular corido.
Download your Capoeira Songbook here!
A song book is an indispensable aid for any capoeirista and will help you to learn new songs as well as understand the meanings behind each song. If you don’t already have a song book, download one by clicking this link to the Casa Da Capoeira Song Book.
