The BERIMBAU looks like a bow tightly tied with a steel wire, or arame, which is extracted from the inside of car tires. A hollow gourd or cabaça is tied to the shaft of the berimbau for extra resonance. The string used to secure the cabaça to the berimbau is also used to balance the berimbau on the smallest finger of the hand. Noise is created by striking the arame with a slight wooden stick called a baqueta. A woven rattle called a caxixi usually accompanies the hand holding the baqueta.

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he ATABAQUE is a large drum used in capoeira rodas. The skin is made from cow hide, and tightened through a system of metal rings, rope and wooden wedges. To tighten an atabaque, hammer the wooden wedges downward, but always take the atabaque out of its stand first. Otherwise the stand can be weakened and break.

The basic beat of the atabaque in the capoeira roda is very similar to that of the pandeiro - four beats with an emphisis on the third. Typically this is played with the hands in the following pattern: [right, left, RIGHT, right] Try to avoid resting your hand on the rim of the drum.

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 The  PANDEIRO is a large version of a tamborine. Small and portable, pandeiros are a common addition to capoeira rodas everywhere. Capoeira pandiero skins are generally made from streched animal skin. Some older pandeiros are even made from the snake skin! In Brazil, pandeiros are also an integral part of samba music.

There are various methods for playing the pandeiro, but in capoeira the principle rhythm is almost always the same. It is four beats followed by a shake, with the emphasis on the third. One easy method for playing is by alternating fingers and thumb: [fingers, thumb, FINGERS, thumb, shake.