the berimbau is composed of five parts - the verga, a bow made from biribá wood, and the arame, a steel or other high tensile cord, strung from one end of the bow to the other.

the cabaça, a dried, hollow gourd which gives resonance, and the three items with which it is played - the dobrão (a coin to press on the wire, changing the tone), the baqueta (the stick with which the arame is struck) and the caxixi (a small rattle held in the same hand as the baqueta).  

berimbaus are divided into three categories - the gunga, the lowest tone, the médio, the middle tone and the viola, which is the highest.