Manasses Morais de Arruda and Luiz Naveda publish an innovative study on the groove in samba. The research reveals how the electric bass builds the rhythmic fluidity essential to the genre, contributing significantly to musicology and musical practice.
The concept of groove is central to creating engaging performances in Afro-Brazilian samba, often being associated with a rhythmic sensation that instigates movement and dance. In research conducted by Manasses Morais de Arruda and Luiz Naveda,, recently published, the authors investigated how the groove is constructed through the double bass lines in samba.
The study involved 19 professional double bassists who improvised over a defined harmonic structure, allowing a detailed analysis of interpretative techniques and approaches. The results showed that the groove in the double bass is created by a combination of technical resources, like ghost notes, slaps e staccato, that enrich the rhythmic texture of the music and give fluidity to the performance.
What is groove? If you like music, You may have heard of this term that makes us sway to the beats. But I knew that in samba, the groove also comes from the double bass lines? not samba, micro rhythmic variations give that organic and fluid touch that makes all the difference. This is what scholars call “swinging”. It's not just a rhythm, is a musical experience that connects body and sound. Want to know more? Immerse yourself in the universe of groove and discover how the double bass defines that swing that everyone feels!
One of the most revealing aspects of the study was the analysis of the Figure 5, which illustrates the use of technical resources over time during the double bass players' performances. This chart highlights the variability in ways musicians construct their bass lines, showing that some prefer a more constant and linear approach, while others use a wide range of resources in a more dynamic and varied way throughout the performance.
Figure 5: Use of technical resources throughout the execution of bass lines for the 19 study participants.
Besides that, a Figure 8 offers valuable insights into the distribution of technical resources across different metric positions in the compass. The figure shows that techniques such as pizzicato and ghost notes are used in a fairly uniform way, but with a significant tendency for ghost notes to appear in contrametric positions. This choice contributes to the creation of a groove that is both fluid and rhythmically interesting., exploring the contrast between metric precision and expressive variations.
Figure 8: Distribution of resources by metric position in ¼ time subdivisions in the binary measure.
This research aligns with CorpusLab’s lines of study, which focuses on the intersection between music theory, performance practice and computational analysis. Arruda and Naveda's study exemplifies the use of data visualization tools to map and understand musical patterns, contributing to the advancement of samba musicology and exploring how temporal microvariation and the choice of techniques influence the groove. This multidisciplinary approach is central to CorpusLab investigations, which seeks to integrate quantitative and qualitative analysis in the understanding of complex musical phenomena.
For more details, the full article can be accessed at Per Musi magazine.