Samba & Tactical Frivolity:
    A Brief Introduction to Rhythms of Resistance (ROR)
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Thought I'd share a little bit about Rhythms of Resistance, what 
it is, and its background, specifically Samba.  Maybe it'll 
pique the curiosity for those out there looking to get more 
involved.Everything I am sharing here on the history end of 
things is from exposure to secondary sources, so please keep 
that in mind.Without further ado:


	# WHAT IS RHYTHMS OF RESISTANCE?

Rhythms of Resistance (ROR) is an international, decentralized 
network of activist samba bands. Individual groups within the 
network are similarly structured: percussionists take on a 
variety of responsibilities and work together to flourish. One 
does not need to have a music background to participate: bands 
typically play reasonably-accessible music from the ROR handbook 
that span genres and geographies.This universal standard allows 
for bands from two completely different places to converge and 
play without issue should the need arise.Bands are led by a 
maestro or maestra that carries a whistle. The Maestro/a signals 
new songs, introduces breaks in the middle of songs, and closes 
them out among other things. This role is similarly rotated. An 
ROR group is stronger if a number of members are comfortable 
filling in a variety of roles, as availability of individual 
members can vary when there is a need to assemble and support 
their communities.


	#TACTICAL FRIVOLITY 

ROR bands wear pink and silver, the colours spawning from the 
anti-Globalisation movement of the 1990s and early 2000s, 
specifically the tactical frivolity circles that would bare the 
same colours. If you've seen or heard of protestors in Portland, 
Oregon, USA donning inflatable chicken or frog costumes in 2025, 
then you have been exposed to the concept.There's a simliar 
history with rebel clown groups around the world that disrupt 
expectations around protest, what it involves, and what it can 
look like.

Tactical frivolity is an effective non-violent tool across 
multiple parametres:

1) First, it makes it exceptionally difficult for poor-faith 
   actors to paint the frivolous as 'thuggish' and produce 
   propadanga in an attempt to manufacture public consent for 
   cruel and unusual policy agendas. I think there's also 
   something uniquely disarming in a gendered way. Pink being 
   deemed 'feminine' (despite its gendered association having a 
   flimsy historical basis) and everything that femininity 
   supposedly entails (passivity, softness, carework...) makes 
   sense when you consider just how much of a vice grip the 
   performance of gender and all its association has on both 
   self and society.

2) Next, despite best practices indicating NOT drawing attention 
   to oneself in terms of attire when participating in social 
   movements, wearing such colours (or other ridiculous 
   features)  allows you to keep with your group, spot them if 
   seperated, and lends legitimacy of the social action to other 
   participants and passers-by as something that actually has 
   structure and thought behind it. The drum line also 
   helps,unsurprisingly.

3) Third, it is low-barrier in terms of cost. You can thrift any 
   pink and silver articles if you don't already have something 
   in your closet.

4) It sparks joy. Albert Camus discusses joy in 'The Rebel', 
   wherein there is an embedded desire for an innocence, a 
   magical 'before-time' that may or may not have ever existed 
   to begin with in each and every act of rebellion, for better 
   or for worse. That relational bit in sharing joy in protest 
   can be grounding. The act of lending your voice (or in this 
   case drum) acts as a relational bridge to others that share 
   similar values, that long for that same innocence.


	# CONNECTION TO SAMBA MUSIC

So what is the connection with samba you might ask? Quite a bit, 
and the brief glimpse I can paint here is an extremely 
incomplete picture.

Samba as a genre has a basis in the Afro-Brazilian music 
tradition, most especially in the country's northeast (namely 
Bahia), and is among the most important contributors to 
contemporary Brazilian cultural (and national) identity. Many of 
the re-occuring instruments, elements and motifs can be tied 
back to West Africa.

There is a lengthy history of the state trying to crush samba 
music to varying extents pretty deep into the 20th century.It is 
ugly and extensive and seems to evolve from policing on a 
theocratic (and racist) basis to a proxy leveraged as an excuse 
to police Afro-Brazilian people. Reading about this reminded me 
heavily of the history of Jungle in the United Kingdom in the 
1990s and the targeted policing of THAT heavily-racialized music 
scene. Maybe I can share more on that in a future phlog.

The percussive focus on the genre (whereas music dominant  in 
the 'developed world' is typically more 
melody-over-rhythm-focused) offers it a unique portability that 
other genres aren't afforded as frequently, and this is 
reflected in many of the songs included in the ROR songbook, 
even ones with a less rhythm-centred music tradition. One of 
which comes to mind is the well-liked Italian folk song 'Bella 
Ciao', which evolved into an anti-fascist hymn during WW2 and 
has since been reworked and retooled countless times over. The 
flexibility and universality of portability is part of what 
makes it such an effective mode of expression. 


	# INSTRUMENTS

The ROR percussion lineup goes as follows (in no particular 
order):

	>SURDO: Varying in size but the largest drum of the lot, 
Surdos have the important task of providing bass, and as such 
take a bit of a 'lead' role, frequently featured in various song 
'breaks' at either the forefront or in a call-and-response 
fashion. Employs a mallet, and held up with a back-pack like 
harness with hooks. Many pieces feature two seperate surdo 
parts, one often lower than the other if a group is outfitted with them.

	>SNARE / CAIXA: Possibly one of the most recognizable 
instruments in the ROR line up, the snare often provides an 
underlying current to the rest of the song, typically repetitive 
with dynamics. Uses an over-the shoulder harness.

	>REPI: Similar looking to the snare, the repi has a 
unique set-up wherein both a hand and single drumstick are often 
used (sometimes with rimshots thrown in for good measure). The 
drumstick is used to create this flared sound, which is used in 
conjuction with hand drumming to firmly counter it. Uses the 
same harness as the snare / caixa.

	>AGOGO: Double-headed cowbell-style percussion with a 
low and high head, origins in West Africa. Cuts through the rest 
of the drums and adds a lot of flavour. I find this to be one of 
the less intimidating instruments to take on for beginners, 
though its difficulty is in the same ballpark as any other.

	>TAMBORIM: Distinct from the tambourine but similar 
in size, the tamborim is a very small frame drum held in one 
hand and hit with a "beater", a sort of flail with several long 
bound threads joined at a handle (think jazz drum kit brushes). 
Featured across many genres of music in Brazil.

	# NOTATION

The ROR playbook employs a fairly simple percussive notation 
that branches a bit from that in the 'western' musical 
tradition, albeit not far off. Below is an example of an ROR 
staple, 'Funk', modified with simple characters for Gopher:

FUNK | tune sign: glasses on your eyes

Groove	1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8
Surdo   |x__x|__x_|x_x_|____|x__x|__x_|x___|____|
Repi	|f__h|f__h|f__h|f__h|f__h|f__h|f__h|xhrh|
Snare   |xxxx|Xxxx|xxxx|Xxxx|xxxx|Xxxx|xxxx|Xxxx|
Tamb    |____|x___|____|x_x_|____|x___|__x_|x___|
Agogo   |L__h|__L_|__h_|h_h_|l__h|__l_|__h_|h_h_|

I'll leave out the breaks for today, you can find all that and 
more in the sheetbook which is available openly online. Maybe 
I'll make an amendment later on to attach the PDF version if I 
summon the willpower to do so. Haha...

(WIP)

-Chacha