Cinco abordagens sobre a identidade da Rabeca

Abstract

The rabeca is a cordophone played with a bow. The introduction of this instrument in Brazil is attributed to the Portuguese and the Spanish. Its farthest origins reach back to the medieval rabeca, which is derived from the Arabian raba. The present Master‟s thesis addresses aspects of the Brazialian Rabeca of the Northeast of Brazil. It begins with a brief history of the rabeca´s European predecessors, which presents visual characteristics in common with a type of four chord rabeca typically found in the Northeast of Brazil, denominated here as rabeca-violin. The present research identifies the use of violins by rabeca players, some of these modified and here denominated violin-rabecas. Moreover, this study indicates procedures for the adaptations of rabecas to adhere to the demands of new players who perform on stage. The study also investigates methods used for teaching rabeca at the Felipe Camarão Connection Project in Natal, RN, as well as the manufacturing of the rabecas at Master Cicero‟s workshop. within the same Project. The study describes the process of construction of a rabeca-violin by the Potiguar artisan Janildo Dantas and addresses aspects of his second profession as a rabeca maker. In this same section, reference is made to the work of Paraiban luthier, Fernando Antônio de Souza. Finally, the research presents results of an experiment in musical perception involving a rabeca and a violin, with the participation of 53 students from the Integrated Technical course of Electromagnetics and Geologia at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte. This experiment uses the VAS scale for measuring, in conjunction with interviews of rabeca players, researchers and musicians. The objective of this research is to present some cultural aspects of the rabeca in the Northeast, among these, the identification of aspects of culturally mediated perceptions of the rabeca and the violin.