Thank you Jim and Matt, it is a pleasure to be part of this community.

I will do a brief explanation of each style with song examples for those who don't know them.


Baião is a musical genre born in the Brazilian sertão (the arid interior of northeast Brazil), it traditionally uses instruments like accordion, triangle and zabumba (a type of bass drum) as you can hear in these songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6cP1rUfyNo&ab_channel=LuizGonzaga-Topic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xzWr1iYE2k&ab_channel=GeylssonYlsson

More contemporary versions of Baião may include instruments such as nylon or electric guitars, piano or electric piano, acoustic or electric bass, drumset and hand percussion (especially triangle, but also shaker and pandeiro).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDfnIQQdzY4&ab_channel=HermetoPascoal-Topic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaBMrF0cpdo&ab_channel=AntonioAdolfo


Xote is another genre of the same family as the Baião, so it is traditionally played with the same instruments. It has a slower tempo and derives from an European ballroom dance (the Schottisch).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRv9q0kmJpg&ab_channel=LuizGonzaga-Topic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqQ3GJjR9do&ab_channel=GilbertoGil-Topic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDFKMlOWU-8&ab_channel=Fl%C3%A1viaSantanaFl%C3%A1viaSantana


Frevo is originally an instrumental genre and is the musical foundation of the carnival celebration in the cities of Recife and Olinda. Its roots are found in polka, maxixe (dance of afro-brazilian and european origins) and military marches. A typical frevo arrangement includes extensive use of the horn sections. The tempo is usually fast, and the intensity high. The Frevo orchestra parades with instruments such as sax, clarinets, pistons, trombones, tubas, snare drums, bass drums and bombardons. Or even with flutes, guitars, mandolins, cavaquinhos, and pandeiros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA4CNjXDweA&ab_channel=RozenblitMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St8Zw7dZ_8c

Modern frevo includes instruments such as piano, electric guitar and bass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TprVKb6LCY&ab_channel=ThePutoPerro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n0LzrrRXyM&ab_channel=marioadnetoficial


Ijexá is a rhythm derived from the ceremonial music of candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion popular especially in Bahia and other northeastern states. The candomblé ensemble includes atabaques (similar to conga drums), gonguê (a low-tones bell, similar to ago-gos), and a variety of shakers, like afoxés and shekerés. Here are some examples of Ijexá in its most rootsy version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QILC-j8rPaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H16LnUBQ38s&ab_channel=GilbertoGil

More contemporary versions may include instruments such as nylon or electric guitars, piano or electric piano, acoustic or electric bass, drumset, and hand percussion (congas, shakers, and ago-go bells):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRplDCDH9cc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIxXjG8DuB8


Baião and Frevo have a binary rhythm (2/4), Ijexá is quaternary (4/4), while Xote can be either binary or quaternary.