How to Hold the Agogo

Assuming you're right handed, hold the agogo bell in the left hand with your forefinger and thumb wrapping slightly around the base of the bells. If the bells are very loud and "ringy", you can dampen them slightly by gripping them further up the bell. Also having a grip around the bells allows you to squeeze and click the bells together for a different sound. Likewise, if your bells are quiet or don't ring, they can be held just by the bar that connects them together so you get the maximum volume.

Hold the stick in your right hand by gripping between your thumb and forefinger. The rest of your fingers can wrap around the stick for extra control. Your grip shouldn't have to be too tight, and the stick should be able to pivot slightly. Most of the striking action comes from the wrist with only minimal input from the forearm. If you're using your whole forearm to hit the bells, you'll most likely end up with a very tired arm and battered bells.

 

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Some Famous Patterns for the Agogo

Once again here is Michael de Miranda demonstrating some famous patterns for the agogo bells. When we play Maracatu, we also use the exact same pattern that Michael demonstrates.

 

And here is the link for variety of enredo de samba pattern video for 4 tune Agogo.

 https://www.youtube.com/user/amalialino/videos