Peito estralo estralo peito estralo estralo palma.

Ph.D. student Music Education at the Ohio State School of Music Andre Felipe started his class on baião by having Portuguese 3450 students use their own bodies to make sounds and practice the rhythm of baião. This is a Brazilian rhythm from the northeastern region of Brazil which originated in the late 1800s and was popularized on the radio in the 1940s.

Having André as a guest instructor in her Introduction to the Study of Literatures and Cultures class, Dr. Ana Carolina dos Santos Marques, Portuguese Language Coordinator, hoped "students would not only learn about the characteristics of baião but also to gain insight into the cultural significance of northeastern Brazilian music. In class,  we studied many aspects about the history, traditions, and social contexts surrounding the Brazilian northeast. The music class was a very meaningful way of closing our course". In order to prepare her students to experience playing the instruments, Ana and her students explored the geography, history, and cultural diversity of the area, and examined the lyrics and themes of baião songs.

Students greatly appreciated this experience as well. According to James Logan, graduating senior and AY 2023-2024 FLAS Fellow for Portuguese, the class was "terrific," and "actually playing traditional instruments and learning a song gave me an invaluable hands-on opportunity to learn more about the cultural practices of Brazil!"

A similar sentiment is echoed by Mateo Zevallos, SU23 FLAS Fellow for Portuguese and music enthusiast. For him, "when you add the active engagement of playing instruments alongside the music it just makes a lovely experience for enjoyment and learning. I appreciate the opportunity we had with André and hope many more students can get an experience like this one through this course or even a more music-focused class"

Unfortunately, Brazilian music is not broadly studied and taught at Ohio State, but André is trying to change that little by little. As he shares, "As a TA, I always include a bit of Brazilian music in the classes I teach. When I'm assisting other teachers, they make room for some Brazilian activities, which is really nice. Professor Jayne Wenner from General Music at OSU even invited me to conduct a workshop for elementary school teachers from the Columbus City Schools, which was a great privilege."

André volunteers as a forró dance instructor on campus (forró uses the baião rhythm). Class time and location for Fall 24 will be announced soon, but interested students, faculty, or staff can contact him directly.