80 glossary

Brazilian music glossary

Words you will hear in lyrics, concerts and conversations, and what they mean.

Abadá
The T-shirt that grants access to a trio elétrico bloco.
Afoxé
A candomblé-linked carnival procession, such as Filhos de Gandhy.
Agronejo
Sertanejo with funk and agribusiness pride, from the 2020s.
Ao vivo
A hallmark of today's market: in 2025, 27 of the country's 50 most-played songs were live recordings.
Aparelhagem
The giant sound system of Belém's parties; the stage of tecnobrega.
Arrocha
A romantic Bahian ballad danced close together.
Axé
A Yoruba word for life force; the name of the Bahian genre of the 1980s.
Baile
The funk party, usually in a community court or street; 'baile funk' became an international term.
Baião
The northeastern rhythm launched nationally by Luiz Gonzaga in 1946.
Balada
A night out or club; also a romantic 'balada', the slow song.
Batalha de rima
An improvised rap contest in public squares, such as Batalha da Aldeia.
Bateria
In a samba school this is not the drum kit: it is the percussion section with hundreds of players.
Batidão
Any heavy, danceable beat in funk or pop.
Bloco
A group that parades in street carnival; Salvador's afro blocos created samba-reggae.
Bossa
Rio slang for 'knack' or 'charm'; 'bossa nova' is the new way of playing samba from 1958.
Brega
From 'cafona' (tacky); popular romantic music of the 1960s–80s that became a genre with pride.
Breque
A stop in the samba where the singer speaks a line; it names samba de breque.
BRock
1980s Brazilian rock, named by journalist Arthur Dapieve.
Caipira
A country dweller of rural São Paulo and Minas; caipira music is the root of sertanejo.
Cantoria
A gathering of repente singers in the Northeast.
Catira
A caipira dance of handclaps and foot-stamping to the viola.
Chamamé
An accordion rhythm from the Argentina and Paraguay border.
Choro
An urban instrumental genre from late 19th-century Rio; also called chorinho.
Clube da Esquina
The Minas collective of Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges and their 1972 album.
CTG
Centre of Gaúcho Traditions, where Rio Grande do Sul's music is played and danced.
Disco de ouro
Pro-Música Brasil certification for sales or streams.
Dupla
Two singers acting as one name, usually in thirds: sertanejo's classic line-up.
ECAD
The office that collects and distributes public-performance royalties in Brazil.
Enredo
The theme of a samba school's parade, told by its samba-enredo.
Escola de samba
A carnival association that parades with a samba-enredo, floats and a bateria; Mangueira, Portela, Salgueiro.
Fandango
A viola and rabeca dance of caiçara communities and the South.
Feminejo
The wave of women in sertanejo from 2015 on.
Festa junina
June festivals (St Anthony, St John, St Peter) with forró and square dancing; Campina Grande and Caruaru hold the biggest.
Festival
The TV Record and Globo song festivals (1965–72) launched MPB.
Forró
From 'forrobodó', a lively party; it does not come from 'for all', as the legend says.
Frevo
The frantic rhythm of Recife carnival; 'to boil' in Pernambuco speech.
Funk
In Brazil this is not American funk: it is funk carioca, an electronic beat born at Rio dance parties.
Gafieira
A popular dance hall; it names samba de gafieira, with horns.
Gravadora
Record label; the majors and the independents (Deckdisc, Midas, Som Livre).
Ijexá
A candomblé rhythm played in afoxé processions.
Intérprete
A singer who does not write; Elis Regina and Gal Costa were great interpreters.
Iê-iê-iê
What Brazilians called 1960s rock, after the Beatles' 'yeah, yeah, yeah'.
Jongo
A circle dance with Bantu-rooted drums from the Southeast.
Jovem Guarda
A TV Record show (1965–68) and the youth-rock movement of Roberto and Erasmo Carlos.
Letrista
The lyric writer; Vinicius de Moraes and Aldir Blanc are the most celebrated.
Louvor
Evangelical worship music; Brazilian 'worship'.
Mandelão
São Paulo funk of the 2020s with distorted bass and 'automotivo'.
Manguebeat
Recife movement of the 1990s: maracatu + rock + hip-hop, with Chico Science.
Maracatu
An Afro-Brazilian procession, 'de nação' (urban) or rural ('de baque solto'), in Pernambuco.
MC
Master of ceremonies: the one who sings in funk and rap.
Mestre-sala e porta-bandeira
The couple who carry the samba school's flag in the parade.
Micareta
Off-season carnival with trio elétrico.
Modão
Classic, sorrowful 'roots' sertanejo; the opposite of universitário.
MPB
Música Popular Brasileira: not a rhythm but the songwriting tradition born at the 1960s festivals.
Ostentação
São Paulo funk of 2011–14 about cars, brands and money.
Pagode
Two things: the backyard samba circle (and the style born from it in the 1980s) and, in Bahia, the danceable pagode baiano.
Pagodão
Another name for pagode baiano, with a fast beat.
Paredão
A powerful car sound system at street parties, linked to funk and arrocha.
Partido-alto
Samba with a fixed chorus and improvised verses in a circle.
Passinho
A Rio street dance born at funk parties.
Pipoca
Those who follow the trio elétrico outside the ropes, without an abadá.
Piseiro
Sped-up electronic forró of the 2020s, with the 'pisadinha' keyboard.
Proibidão
Funk with explicit or crime-related lyrics, outside the radio circuit.
Pé-de-serra
Traditional trio forró: accordion, zabumba and triangle.
Regional
The ensemble that plays choro: flute or mandolin, cavaquinho, guitars and pandeiro.
Repente
Rhymed improvisation by two duelling viola players.
Roda de samba
An informal gathering around a table where everyone sings and plays.
Samba de roda
The samba of Bahia's Recôncavo, sung and danced in a circle.
Sambódromo
The samba school parade avenue; Rio's opened in 1984.
Sanfoneiro
An accordion player; the central figure of forró.
Sarau
A poetry and music gathering, today strong in the outskirts and in rap.
Saudade
The untranslatable word for the loving absence of someone or something; the theme of half of Brazilian songs.
Sertão
The semi-arid interior of the Northeast; 'sertanejo' means 'from the sertão', though the genre comes from the Centre-South.
Sofrência
Heartbreak sertanejo (and arrocha) about drink and betrayal; Marília Mendonça was the 'queen of sofrência'.
Tamborzão
The sampled atabaque beat that defined 2000s funk carioca.
Toada
The boi-bumbá song, sung at the Parintins Festival.
Trio elétrico
A truck with stage and sound system that leads the bloco at Salvador carnival.
Tropicália
The 1967–68 movement that joined Brazilian music, electric guitars and avant-garde.
Universitário
Sertanejo born at student parties in Goiás and Paraná in the 2000s; poppier and faster.
Xote
Forró's slow, partner-danced rhythm, from the German 'Schottisch'.