Pandeiro Online with a Samba Percussion Kit
The pandeiro is the Brazilian frame drum: a round wooden frame with a head on one side (goatskin or synthetic) and pairs of small metal jingles, the platinelas, set into the rim. You hold it in one hand and play it with the other, and it carries the groove in samba and choro.
How to use it
- Tap the pieces, two at a time if you like. On a PC each piece shows its key (see the list below the kit): A pandeiro, Q jingles, X or Space and L the surdos.
- Turn on the Click (96 BPM). Change it with the minus and plus buttons or type a number, and pick 2/4 for samba and choro.
- To play along, tap Open song and choose an MP3, M4A, WAV or OGG file. It never leaves your device.
- Tap Record, play and tap Stop. Record again to add a layer on top; Undo removes the last one.
- Download WAV saves the percussion only, without the song or the click. The full-screen button makes the kit bigger; on a phone, turn it sideways.
Help and explanations
This page opens the Lalatone online drums on the Brazilian kit, with the click at 96 BPM and ten synthesised sounds: pandeiro, jingles, two surdos, samba snare, repique, tamborim, shaker (ganzá) and high and low agogô. To be clear, the pandeiro here is one sound, a stroke with the jingles, and the loose jingles are another pad: a set of sounds you trigger, not a pandeiro with every technique. It is enough to practise grooves, play along with a song and record a percussion section in layers.
How a real pandeiro is played
A player mixes a few strokes: the thumb near the rim for the low, open tone; the fingertips for light strokes; the heel of the hand near the edge; and the slap (tapa), a flat hand in the centre for a sharp accent. The holding hand rocks the drum so the jingles speak and can press the head from behind to muffle it.
The basic samba pattern is four sixteenth notes per beat: thumb, fingertips, heel, fingertips. With no separate thumb or slap here, alternate A (pandeiro) and Q (jingles) in sixteenths, A on the beat, and record the surdos underneath for the low end.
Practising samba and choro with the click
Samba, click in 2/4. First layer: surdo 2 (L) on beat 1 and surdo 1 (X or Space) on beat 2, stronger. Second layer: pandeiro and jingles in steady sixteenths. Then add the shaker (Z), short tamborim (K) phrases and the agogô (I and W). Think of the swing of Aquarela do Brasil.
Choro is also in 2 with sixteenths on the pandeiro, but lighter and often much faster, as in Brasileirinho or Tico-Tico no Fubá. Start below 96 BPM and go up 5 at a time. These songs are only style references: there are no built-in songs, so open a file of your own.
Tips
- If the sixteenths rush or blur, slow down; speed up only when the pattern flows without thinking.
- Don't know a song's tempo? Tap along in the BPM counter and use that number on the click.
- Wired headphones or the device speaker lag less than Bluetooth, which matters for sixteenths.
- For timing alone, without percussion, use the online metronome.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the pandeiro on a computer keyboard?
A plays the pandeiro and Q the jingles. The rest of the kit: X or Space surdo 1, L surdo 2, S snare, J repique, K tamborim, Z shaker, I high agogô and W or O low agogô.
Can I play thumb, slap and muffled strokes?
No. There is one pandeiro sound and one jingle sound, and finger pressure doesn't change the volume (only a stylus does). Use it for rhythm and timing; hand technique needs a real pandeiro.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, with no app. A piece sounds the moment your finger touches it, and you can hit two at once. Only the very first tap waits for your finger to lift, when the browser unlocks audio.
How do I record a whole samba groove on my own?
In layers. With the click on, recording starts after a one-bar count-in. Record the surdos, tap Record again and play the pandeiro over them, then add tamborim, shaker and agogô.
Can I switch to a regular drum kit?
Yes. The buttons at the top switch between the Brazilian, Acoustic and Electronic kits. The full version is on the online drums page.