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What kind of pandeiro should I buy?

Apr 16, 2012 Brazilian Voices, Pandeiro

Brazilian Voices with Rafael Pereira – Article 1 – What kind of pandeiro should I buy?
Hello Everyone –
Let me first start this journey by stating that is a pleasure and an honor to be part of this community.Specially in a way that it will help all of us learn from each other in this beautiful,free enviroment called the internet.

I will be posting an article here at framedrums.org monthly; all kinds of grooves,techniques and tricks about the pandeiro, and its related music.How to approach the instrument in numerous situations within its traditional and modern applications.
I hope that you find this useful and will enjoy this as much as I do.

Let’s get started!

Article 1: The Instrument

How to find the right instrument for you.

There are two questions I need to ask you.

1. How much are you willing to spend in a pandeiro?

2. In what situation are you going to play this instrument?

The first questions answers itself like any other instrument out there.

You can spend as little as $50 or up to $500 in this frame drum.

You should be able to buy one in the $50-$200 range at online stores such as craigslist.org, ebay.com and www.steveweissmusic.com. These will be instruments that are manufactured by large companies, in a mass production form.

If you are starting out and you want a pandeiro that will get you going for the first 2 years. The 10″ pearl pandeiro is a good option. You can find those online for about $80.

Now we can start thinking about the second question:
In what situation are you going to play this instrument?

If it is in a samba or choro situation that you will be simply accompanying a giitar or cavaquinho. The pearl is your best option. But if you are thinking of playing the instrument in a more intricate rhythms such as funk, baiao, coco and odd meters, you should aim for the $200-500 range. These instruments will most likely be handmade by a single person.

Bira, Adalberto, Lanka, Fabiano Raposa and Tamina are all well known pandeiro makers in Brazil. Some of these makers are hard to get in touch with. But with the help of the internet you should be able to contact all of them via e-mail or phone. Pandeiro.com is also a great way to research, shop and understand the instrument. There you can find some of these makers.

My personal favorite handmade pandeiro is the Cooperman (www.cooperman.com).
Cooperman drums are crafted right here in the U.S., in Vermont by some great human beings! And at a very reasonable price ($230), you get a handcrafted instrument that is light and balanced on weight and sound. Call Patrick or Shawn at the Cooperman factory and they should be able to help you.

I hope this article helped you clear your ideas on how to purchase a pandeiro. Next month I’ll be geeking out on how to Mic your pandeiro in a live situation.

If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to log into my website an contact me: www.rafapereira.com

See you next time!

Rafael Pereira

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