Agogô
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An agogô or agogo bell (gong in English) is a single or multiple bell used in tradional african music and also in the samba baterías (percussion ensembles). is also used in the ceremonial music of those religions in Africa as well as in their new world practice, which are based on beliefs brought by slaves from Africa such as candomblé. It may be officially used for congregation or heralding the coming of a dignatary. It is the main instrument of Obatala and Orisa Nla (Orisa Nla o, Alagogo Oje o). It may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African double bells.
It is made of metal with each bell a different size. This allows a differently pitched note to be produced depending on which bell has been hit. The most common arrangement is two bells attached by a U shaped piece of metal. The smaller bell is held uppermost. Either bell may be hit with a wooden stick to make a cow-bell like sound or less commonly a clicking sound is produced by squeezing the two bells together.
The Agogô has the highest pitch of any of the batería instruments.
