Baião (music)

Baião (Portuguese pronunciation: [baˈjɐ̃w]) is a Northeastern Brazilian music genre and dance style based on a syncopated duple meter rhythm, based around the pulse of the zabumba, a flat, double-headed bass drum played with a mallet in one hand and a stick in the other, each striking the opposite head of the drum for alternating high and low notes, frequently accompanied by an accordion and a triangle pattern. The baião rhythm is integral to the genres of forró, repente and coco (or embolada). It is mostly associated with the state of Pernambuco. Baião was popularized via radio in the 1940s, reaching peak popularity in the 1950s.