One Note Samba is a famous Bossa Nova by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The pattern requires you to keep the 1st string open for the first section, while the bass (played on beats 1 and 3) is moving down chromatically. The chords are: Cm7 – C7 – Bm7 – Bflat 7 (flat 5) Followed by: […]
This is an iconic and popular guitar pice that uses 4 main techniques: Position Changes Bass plus Treble notes arpeggio style accompaniment Barre Chords In this video, I’ll take you through each element of technique and give you suggestions on how to practice this piece.
This is a simple Rumba in E minor suitable for intermediate players. It features an arpeggio style accompaniment alternating with melodic passages. The final strumming can be used to solo over by a second guitar.
This is part one of my new Bossa Nova guitar piece called Pensiero. It has some embellished Jazz chords and effective voice leading while still being at an intermediate level. Harmonically we move through the circle of fifths: Am – Dm 11 – G 11 -Cmaj 9 – E7+ – F7 – E7 – […]
Here is my arrangement of Luis Bonfa’s classic bossa nova hit. It was also performed on a film called Orfeo Negro and was originally called. Maha De Carneval.
Alzapua is a flamenco technique involving the thumb. the term comes from the word alzar which means to raise. It is usually played as a fast flourish of notes in quick sequence. The thumb plays all notes using down and up strokes. Played accurately and fast it can sound fantastic as a high point of a falseta or […]
What is the circle of fifths chord progression? Well, chords and tonalities have various relationships to each other. For example, the chords C, F, and G7 are all part of the key of C. They form the chords I, IV and V7. Put another way, they are the first, fourth and fifth chords in that […]
Here are 4 Bossa Nova exercises, each exercise uses the same 2 chords : Am6 and Am7 with voicing on strings 2 to 4. Its a good idea to practice with a metronome at a comfortable tempo. Note that the bass part is always on beats 1 and 3, while the chords vary between begin […]
The music Girl from Ipanema (also known as Garota De Ipanema) was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1962. This song became an international hit by the mid-1960s after it was recorded by Stan Getz with Joao Gilberto on guitar and his wife Astrud on vocals.