Samba De Janeiro Chords
Tavarus Calamia
One of the major innovations of bossa nova was the way to synthesize the rhythm of samba on the classical guitar.[2][6] According to musicologist Gilberto Mendes, the bossa nova was one of the "three rhythmic phases of samba", in which the "bossa beat" had been extracted by Joo Gilberto from the traditional samba.[5] The synthesis performed by Gilberto's guitar was a reduction of the "batucada" of samba, a stylization produced from one of the percussion instruments: the thumb stylized a surdo; the index, middle and ring fingers phrased like a tamborim.[6] In line with this thesis, musicians such as Baden Powell, Roberto Menescal, and Ronaldo Bscoli also understand the bossa nova beat as being extracted from the tamborim play in the bateria.[7]
The phrase bossa nova means literally "new trend" or "new wave" in Portuguese.[9] The exact origin of the term bossa nova remained unclear for many decades, according to some authors. Within the artistic beach culture of the late 1950s in Rio de Janeiro, the term bossa was used to refer to any new "trend" or "fashionable wave". In his book Bossa Nova, Brazilian author Ruy Castro asserts that bossa was already in use in the 1950s by musicians as a word to characterize someone's knack for playing or singing idiosyncratically.[10] Castro claims that the term bossa nova might have first been used in public for a concert given in 1957 by the Grupo Universitrio Hebraico do Brasil ('Hebrew University Group of Brazil'). The authorship of the term bossa nova is attributed to the then-young journalist Moyses Fuks, who was promoting the event.[11] That group consisted of Sylvia Telles, Carlos Lyra, Nara Leo, Luiz Ea, Roberto Menescal, and others. Mr Fuks's description, fully supported by most of the bossa nova members, simply read "HOJE. SYLVIA TELLES E UM GRUPO BOSSA NOVA" ("Today. Sylvia Telles and a 'Bossa Nova' group"), since Sylvia Telles was the most famous musician in the group at that time. In 1959, Nara Leo also participated in more than one embryonic display of bossa nova. These include the 1st Festival de Samba Session, conducted by the student union of Pontifcia Universidade Catlica. This session was chaired by Carlos Diegues (later a prominent Cinema Novo film director), a law student whom Leo ultimately married.[12]
In 1959, the soundtrack to the film Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) was released, which included the future Manh de Carnaval, "The Morning of the Carnival". The style emerged at the time when samba-cano[nb 2] was the dominant rhythm in the Brazilian music scene.[14][15] Its first appearance was on the album Cano do Amor Demais, in which the singer Elizeth Cardoso recorded two compositions by the duo Antnio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, "Outra Vez" and "Chega de Saudade", which were accompanied by Joo Gilberto's guitar. It was the first time that the Bahian musician presented the beat of his guitar that would become characteristic of the style.[2] By accompanying Cardoso's voice, Gilberto innovated in the way of pacing the rhythm, accentuating the weak times, to carry out a synthesis of the beat of samba to guitar.[2][16]
Bossa nova has continue to influence popular music around the world from the 1960s to today. An example is the song "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" by American rock band The Doors, especially the drum beat. Drummer John Densmore has stated that he was very influenced by the sounds of Brazil when coming up with the drum part for the song.[23] A more recent reference is the Icelandic jazz pop singer Laufey and her hit song "From The Start", with its bossa nova infused rhythm.[24]
Bossa nova is most commonly performed on the nylon-string classical guitar, played with the fingers rather than with a pick. Its purest form could be considered unaccompanied guitar with vocals, as created, pioneered, and exemplified by Joo Gilberto. Even in larger, jazz-like arrangements for groups, there is almost always a guitar that plays the underlying rhythm. Gilberto basically took one of the several rhythmic layers from a samba ensemble, specifically the tamborim, and applied it to the picking hand. According to Brazilian musician Paulo Bittencourt, Joo Gilberto, known for his eccentricity and obsessed by the idea of finding a new way of playing the guitar, sometimes locked himself in the bathroom, where he played one and the same chord for many hours in a row.[25]
As in samba, the surdo plays an ostinato figure on the downbeat of beat one, the "ah" of beat one, the downbeat of beat two and the "ah" of beat two. The clave pattern sounds very similar to the two-three or three-two son clave of Cuban styles such as mambo but is dissimilar in that the "two" side of the clave is pushed by an eighth note. Also important in the percussion section for bossa nova is the cabasa, which plays a steady sixteenth-note pattern. These parts are easily adaptable to the drum set, which makes bossa nova a rather popular Brazilian style for drummers.
Bossa nova has at its core a rhythm based on samba. Samba combines the rhythmic patterns and feel originating in afro-Brazilian slave communities. Samba's emphasis on the second beat carries through to bossa nova (to the degree that it is often notated in 2/4 time). However, unlike samba, bossa nova has no dance steps to accompany it.[26] When played on the guitar, in a simple one-bar pattern, the thumb plays the bass notes on 1 and 2, while the fingers pluck the chords in unison on the two eighth notes of beat one, followed by the second sixteenth note of beat two. Two-measure patterns usually contain a syncopation into the second measure. Overall, the rhythm has a "swaying" feel rather than the "swinging" feel of jazz. As bossa nova composer Carlos Lyra describes it in his song "Influncia do Jazz", the samba rhythm moves "side to side" while jazz moves "front to back". There's also some evidence indicating a musical influence of blues in bossa nova, even thought this effect is not immediately recognized in the genre structure.[27]
Aside from the guitar style, Joo Gilberto's other innovation was the projection of the singing voice. Prior to bossa nova, Brazilian singers employed brassy, almost operatic styles. Now, the characteristic nasal vocal production of bossa nova is a peculiar trait of the caboclo folk tradition of northeastern Brazil.[28][29]
The lyrical themes found in bossa nova include women, love, longing, homesickness, nature. Bossa Nova was often apolitical. The musical lyrics of the late 1950s depicted the easy life of the middle to upper-class Brazilians, though the majority of the population was in the working class. In conjunction with political developments of the early 1960s (especially the 1964 military coup d'tat), the popularity of bossa nova was eclipsed by Msica popular brasileira, a musical genre that appeared around the mid-1960s, featuring lyrics that were more politically charged and focused on the working class struggle.
Bossa nova was also a fad dance that corresponded to the music. It was introduced in the late 1950s and faded out in the mid-sixties.[30][unreliable source?] Bossa nova music, with its soft, sophisticated vocal rhythms and improvisations, is well suited for listening but failed to become dance music despite heavy promotion in the 1960s. The style of basic dance steps suited the music well. It was danced on "soft" knees that allowed for sideways sways with hip motions and it could be danced both solo and in pairs. About ten various simple step patterns were published.
A variant of basic 8-beat pattern was: "step forward, tap, step back, step together, repeat from the opposite foot". A variation of this pattern was a kind of slow samba walk, with "step together" above replaced by "replace". Box steps of rhumba and whisk steps of nightclub two step could be fitted with bossa-nova styling. Embellishments included placing one arm onto one own's belly and waving another arm at waist level in the direction of the sway, possibly with a finger click.[citation needed]
Bossa nova music started a sonic revolution in the late 1950s and it continues to dazzle many audiophiles today with its unique sound and enchanting melodies. But how does one play bossa nova? What are some common bossa nova chord progressions?
Bossa nova is a unique genre that originated as a fusion of jazz and Brazilian music on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. This jazzy new genre focused on creating a musical atmosphere with subtle syncopated rhythms and comforting melodies in the late 1950s.
One of the best examples of Bossa Nova music is championed in the worldwide hit "The Girl From Ipanema" by Antnio Carlos Jobim which also features Antonio Carlos. This composer created the sound of bossa nova, but mainly used lyrics inspired by poetry.
Eventually, Jobim's music was discovered by enough people to extend the sound far outside the Brazilian radius. In fact, "The Girl From Ipanema" topped the charts, reaching number 5 in the United States during the summer of 1964.
One of the most essential ingredients to bossa nova music is clave, pronounced clah-v. This word describes the underlying rhythmic patterns that are seen across samba or other forms of Afro-Cuban and Latin American music.
This rhythmic pattern is a key component of any bossa nova groove, as it pulls a regular jazz progression into the world of Brazilian syncopation. Bossa nova songs are equally as rhythmic as they are melodic.
Basic bossa nova music tends to have a softer sound, incorporating fingerstyle playing on guitar. This technique was often used to allow the guitar player to strum the bass string while simultaneously hitting all required notes.
Bossa nova music borrows a lot from jazz guitar playing which emphasizes complex melodies, scales, and improvisation. You'll hear that bossa nova chord progressions frequently change throughout a song, with various embellishments added to keep things interesting.
c80f0f1006