Agogô

From Freepedia

An Agogô is a multiple bell used in samba baterías (percussion ensembles). It is also used in the ceremonial music of those religions in the new world which are based on beliefs brought by slaves from Africa such as candomblé. It may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African cow-bells.

It is made of metal with each bell a different size. This allows a differently pitched note to be produced depending on which bell has been hit. The most common arrangement is two bells attached by a U shaped piece of metal. The smaller bell is held uppermost. Either bell may be hit with a wooden stick to make a cow-bell like sound or less commonly a clicking sound is produced by squeezing the two bells together.

The Agogô has the highest pitch of any of the batería instruments.

Links

Agogô (Traditional Sounds of Samba) [1]

Bateria Sounds [2]

References

African and African-American Contributions to World Music [3]