Batucada do Norte & UMN Play May Day

Happy, happy May Day!   If you were at practice last night, you played with us on May Day!  (Which is technically May 1).   So everything from here on out is just a cherry on top.  You've got this!    But, if you still have questions, they should all be answered below. Here, presented as potential QUESTIONS you might have, is what to expect  THIS  SUNDAY, when we play at May Day: 1. Help!   I need more practice!   What are the details of our Saturday practice, again? We're meeting at 10:00am,  Saturday, May 4 in the Northeast corner of Powderhorn Park, or  Click here for directions using Google Maps!   Plan to meet close-ish to the playing fields.   While there might be a game going on, it'll at least get us all to the same level of the park, and will give us plenty of space to march (away from the games in progress)! If you would like to practice before Saturday, you c...

W E D ID I T ! ! ! Happy May Day, everyone!! Special thanks to BIRTHDAY TIM and SUPER PAT for their leadership. If you have photos, please feel free to post them to our Batucada Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/batucadadonorte/ )-- or right here on the blog (or e-mail), so that those of us not on facebook (like Pat!) can see them! For now, please enjoy these!!

Welcome to the FINAL COUNTDOWN, y'all. If you read that last post /e-mail, you know that we are meeting in   B R I G H T   B L O O M   c o l o r s,  at 11am on Sunday (May 6),  close to the corner of  Bloomington and 18th Ave S , asking for the  BLOOM section.    You also know that YOU are responsible for getting your instrument there, and for getting it back to Pat and Tim O'Keefe after the parade. Where are we walking in the parade / where are we going to end up after the parade, you ask?    Check out this handy May Day Parade Map graphic from Heart of the Beast Theatre:   https://hobt.org/mayday/parade/route/ Which means all that's left to do now is PRACTICE!!   Please come on down to OUR VERY LAST PRACTICE, at Lower Riverside Park on SATURDAY, May 5, at 11:00am!!    (Google Maps link here:   https://goo.gl/maps/knFQ6fCgc3H2 ) And, as always, please feel fre...

OH MY GOODNESS, YOU GUYS -- it's finally MAY!!!! Which means, of course, that the countdown is REALLY on. Here, presented as potential QUESTIONS you might have, is what to expect THIS SUNDAY, when we play at May Day: 1. First of all, WHAT section are we going to be in, in the May Day Parade lineup? We're going to be in the BLOOM section of the parade lineup.  (Jean Ockuly figured this out for us -- thanks Jeanie!) 2. OK, so WHERE is that? Well, even though it's the LAST section, we meet at the start of the parade,  which means that we're going to want to meet close to the corner of Bloomington and 18th Ave S .  When you get there, if you have any difficulty, remember you're in the BLOOM section, ask Parade Marshalls, and tell them you're "Toward the back"... they'll direct you where to go. From: https://hobt.org/mayday/parade/route/  3. Right, okay, so WHEN are we meeting? We're going to meet at about 11:00am  on Sunday,...

This week on Saturday Practice Sessions :  We've got some great videos from our accidentally alternative practice room in the music building, as well as the names of and lyrics to our Maracatu Medley.  Plus, SUNSHINE!!  ☀️🌱🌸     Put on our  Batucada do Norte private practice  playlist  while you play/hang out outside!! Several of the songs we'll be playing are part of a large Maracatu Medley.  The Medley includes these songs, in this order:   Intro : bells-shekere-snares-alfaias roll, going into Marcacao groove (the basic maracatu groove) Song #1 “ Nagô Nagô ” (Baque de parada) Song #2 “ Somos de Agua Fria ” (Baque de martelo) Interlude (switch to Baque de Imale) Break 3 Song #3 “ Coroa Imperial ” (with funk beat) We'll also be doing Mas Que Nada. The Medley song lyrics that we need to know are: 1. Nagô, Nagô  Nagô, Nagô A nossa Rainha já se coroou  (2x) Nagô, Nagô, Nagô A nossa Rainha já...

Did you get (or potentially misplace) the e-mail from Pat O'Keefe with the links to awesome maracatu resources? Never fear -- we've got them here!! Here's the text of Pat's e-mail: Hey Folks, Since we are doing maracatu for May Day this year, which is a favorite for many of you, I wanted to let you know about two great resources out there created by our friend Scott Kettner, who is the foremost American expert in maracatu. First, Scott has put out a fantastic book all about Maracatu that I HIGHLY recommend if you are at all interested. It has tons of great historical info, but mostly it's a how-to book with tons of examples where he goes into great detail about every instrument. It even includes a play-along CD which is very helpful. The book is called: Maracatu for Drumset and Percussion: A Guide to the Traditional Brazilian Rhythms of Maracatu de Baque Virado  You can get it on Amazon. Great book. Second, Scott has also created a fantasti...