Three Etudes for Marimba and Pandeiro: Contemporary Marimba Music as a New Setting for the Brazilian Pandeiro

The history of frame drums and idiophones has thousands of years. The modern versions of the pandeiro and the marimba are relatively new to those families of instruments. While the marimba found its niche in contemporary music, the pandeiro has been mostly used in Brazilian traditional music. The current project brings those two instruments together, allowing the pandeiro to express its versatility. Executing the intricate rhythms, uneven patterns, and alternating time signatures from within the Three Etudes for Marimba and Pandeiro is an example of what can be done with this amazing frame drum. These three pieces provide the pandeiro with a series of challenges that expand the Brazilian technique created by the greatest masters of the instrument. Some of these challenges are the interpretation and execution of odd subdivisions and uneven groups of notes on the pandeiro, where the rhythmic patterns create an alternation that forces the beginning of each subdivision to be played on a different part of the drum. These patterns are unusual within the Brazilian styles where the music is mostly in duple, triple, or quadruple meter, and the music is frequently used for dancing. Hopefully, this project will start a path for the pandeiro within contemporary settings, expanding its vocabulary and rhythmic possibilities