How to Play Baiao With Claves

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Aaron Bland and I'm here to demonstrate for you a clave playing technique. And I want to demonstrate a very simple rhythm that can be played on the claves. This is called the baiao for all of you taking notes. The baiao is a three note pattern that can be a measure long and it can be thought of or played in a lot of different ways. I'm going to play it for you, just so you can get an ear for it. There's your baiao pattern. This was used in capoera circles. This is a Brazilian form of martial arts that kind of evolved out of a game where people would sit in a circle and two to the two contestants on this game. Well, basically, it's like break dance fighting, where they would stay low to the ground, very calculated movements, pull a lot of punches. It wasn't fighting form in the game, but it was kind of training for that, much like Tai Chi. But people in the circle would often clap this rhythm to indicate the ferocity of the battle or the game. You know, at a slower tempo, very game-like, very slow and calculated. And at quicker tempos, it would be much more furious and more like actual combat. Now, this can be broken down into three notes, three notes, and two notes, where you're playing on the first of each of those counts. For example, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, is how you can count this measure out. Pull that up to speed, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, one two, three. Or, if you're counting eighth notes, one and two and three and four, and one and two and three and four and one and two and three and four and one and two, three and four and one and two, three and four."