Santa Maria

Berimbau toque (rhythm)

Santa Maria is two different berimbau toques that share a name: a Capoeira Angola melody and a Capoeira Regional toque from Mestre Bimba’s repertoire. Practice both on a real berimbau in Toque Play — the browser scores pitch and timing, and audio stays on your device.

How do the Angola and Regional toques differ?

Wikipedia and CapoeiraWiki describe two different toques under this name. The Angola Santa Maria is a slower four-phrase melody, often linked to the money game Apanha Laranja no Chão Tico Tico. Mestre Bimba’s Regional Santa Maria is a different, medium-pace pattern with no traditionally associated game; according to his son Mestre Nenel, it is unclear whether Bimba created that Regional rhythm. Capoeira Shop lists Santa Maria among the toques on Bimba’s Curso de Capoeira Regional LP.

Capoeira Angola

Santa Maria de Angola

Apanha a laranja

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What is the Santa Maria de Angola berimbau toque?

The Santa Maria in Capoeira Angola is a four-phrase melody often linked to the corrido Santa Maria, Mãe de Deus. CapoeiraWiki notes that the related game Apanha Laranja no Chão Tico Tico (não pega com a mão, só com pé ou com bico) is a money game: pick an object from the ground with the mouth or feet, not the hands.

How does Santa Maria de Angola feel in the roda?

Medium-slow Angola character. The Angola game tied to this melody is cautious and close to the ground — historically a contest to retrieve a prize without using the hands.

How to practice Santa Maria de Angola on a real berimbau

Four repeating phrases with a pause after the first note of each line. Keep the rest audible — crowding the grouped notes is a common miss.

Also known as

Apanha a laranja
Apanha a Laranja no Chão Tico Tico

Capoeira Regional

Santa Maria de Regional

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What is the Santa Maria de Regional berimbau toque?

Mestre Bimba’s Santa Maria is a Capoeira Regional toque, distinct from the Angola melody. Wikipedia and CapoeiraWiki say it has no traditionally associated game and is played at a medium pace. It appears among the toques on the 1960s Curso de Capoeira Regional LP. According to Mestre Nenel, Bimba’s son, it is unclear whether Bimba created this rhythm.

How does Santa Maria de Regional feel in the roda?

Medium-pace Regional character — a practice and roda toque rather than a named ground game. Schools notate the pattern differently; Toque Play encodes the base from listen, not from a single printed grid.

How to practice Santa Maria de Regional on a real berimbau

A short Regional cycle at a medium-fast 100 BPM: open, then dim–dom–dim, then a chi pair. Leave space after the first open strike — crowding the grouped notes is a common miss.

How to practice Santa Maria on a real berimbau

Play this toque on a real berimbau. Allow the microphone, calibrate your tones, then follow the scrolling note track. The app scores pitch in cents against your calibration and whether you hit on time. Microphone audio never leaves the browser.

Exercises use the three core berimbau tones: ◯ dom (open, stone off the string), ⊗ chi (buzz, light stone), and ⬤ dim (closed, stone on the string).

Each preview is a 30-second guest demo — no account. Sign up to save sessions and practice the full exercise catalog.

Sources

Paraphrased from Wikipedia, CapoeiraWiki, and Capoeira Shop (Regional). Schools differ on how each toque is played; this is not a teaching method.