though surdos range in size, they are the bass drum of the bateria and are played with short, wide mallets to achieve a solid strike.  the repinique is a smaller incarnation of the surdo, played either by hand or with a snare drum stick. they are made from metal and feature taught synthetic skins on either side. the baritone of the repinique is one of the most iconic sounds of the bateria, as it is used to initiate the call-and-response cadence of the samba.

in a typical samba school drum section, repiniqueros will make up 15% of the musicians, owing to their indispensable role in driving the music.