'The bossa guitarist is the whole rhythm section: thumb plays the surdo drum (root on 1, fifth on 3, never syncopated), fingers play the chord block on the anticipations. Quiet is louder — the genre was invented at apartment volume, and intensity comes from rhythmic placement and harmonic colour, never from strumming harder.',
comping:[
{
label:'Thumb bass (the surdo)',
rhythm:'B . . . B . . . — root on 1, fifth on 3',
description:'Metronomic, soft, every bar, under everything. The one layer that is never syncopated. With a bassist: drop it entirely and play only the upper notes.',
},
{
label:'One-bar starter pattern',
rhythm:'X . . X . . X . — hits on 1, and-of-2, 4',
description:'The training-wheels comp: chord block on 1, the and-of-2, and 4 over the steady thumb. Master this before the two-bar pattern.',
},
{
label:'Two-bar João Gilberto pattern',
rhythm:'X . . X . . . X~ | . . . X . . X . — the 4& ties over the barline',
description:'Bar 2 has no downbeat chord — the tied and-of-4 carries across. The anticipation is the hardest and most essential bossa skill. Gilberto drifted between patterns freely; treat it as a motif, not a loop.',
},
{
label:'Partido alto (the samba cousin — for contrast)',
rhythm:'. X . X X . . X — lands HARD on beat 3',
description:'Percussive, chopped, with muted ghost-strums — the opposite aesthetic. Bossa never accents beat 3: that beat belongs to the bass register (the surdo). Hammering it squares the lilt into a polka.',
},
],
plays:{
'bossa-ipanema':[
{
label:'Low-E roots (the João position)',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:MAJ7_6,note:'Imaj7'},
{shape:DOM13_6,extensions:['13'],note:'II7(13) — the Lydian ♭7 colour'},
{shape:M7_6,note:'ii7'},
{shape:DOM7S11_6,extensions:['#11'],note:'♭II7(♯11) — tritone sub of V'},
{shape:MAJ7_6,note:'home'},
{shape:DOM7S11_6,extensions:['#11'],note:'and the ♭II7 again — Jobim never quite lets go'},
],
tips:'The whole A-section lives in a four-fret window: each change moves the thumb a fret or two and one or two fingers inside the grip. If a finger jumps more than two frets, you took a wrong turn.',
},
{
label:'A-string roots, colour-tone set',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:MAJ9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'Imaj9'},
{shape:DOM9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'II9'},
{shape:M7_5,note:'ii7'},
{shape:DOM9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'♭II9'},
{shape:MAJ9_5,extensions:['9'],note:''},
{shape:DOM9_5,extensions:['9'],note:''},
],
tips:'Same progression, one string set higher and sweeter — 9ths everywhere. Use this set when another guitarist or pianist already owns the low-E register. (If the band plays a plain major tonic, the 6/9 grab — drop the 7th for the 6 — is the classic bossa colour.)',
},
],
'bossa-minor-251':[
{
label:'Low-E roots with the ♭9',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:M7_6,note:'i7'},
{shape:M7B5_6,note:'iiø7 — the ♭5 on the B string is the saudade note'},
{shape:DOM7B9_6,extensions:['b9'],note:'V7♭9 — the ♭5 you just played, reinterpreted'},
{shape:M6_6,note:'i6 — resolve to the sixth, not the seventh'},
],
tips:'One pitch threads the middle of the progression: the iiø7\'s ♭5 IS the V7\'s ♭9. Find it, hold it, let the thumb do the moving.',
},
{
label:'A-string roots, compact grabs',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:M7_5C,note:'compact i7 — no 5th, pure bossa economy'},
{shape:M7B5_5,note:'iiø7'},
{shape:DOM7B9_5,extensions:['b9'],note:'V7♭9'},
{shape:M6_5,note:'i6'},
],
tips:'Black Orpheus oscillates between this cell and the relative major\'s ii–V–I — learn both as one hand pattern and the whole tune is two moves.',
},
],
'bossa-blue':[
{
label:'Thumb-bass through the form',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:M7_6,note:'i7'},{shape:M7_6,note:''},
{shape:M7_5,note:'iv7 — A-string root, same fret region'},{shape:M7_5,note:''},
{shape:M7B5_5,note:'iiø7'},
{shape:DOM7B9_6,extensions:['b9'],note:'V7♭9'},
{shape:M7_6,note:''},{shape:M7_6,note:''},
{shape:M7_6,note:'♭iii7 — the excursion begins'},
{shape:DOM9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'♭VI9'},
{shape:MAJ9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'♭IImaj9 — a major-key vacation'},
{shape:MAJ9_5,extensions:['9'],note:''},
{shape:M7B5_5,note:'iiø7 — back to reality'},
{shape:DOM7B9_6,extensions:['b9'],note:'V7♭9'},
{shape:M7_6,note:''},{shape:M7_6,note:''},
],
tips:'i and iv sit on adjacent root strings in one position, like a blues. The bars 9–12 excursion is a normal major ii–V–I — play it sweeter, then darken again for the iiø7.',
},
{
label:'Colour set (9ths and the 6/9 cadence)',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:M7_5C,note:''},{shape:M7_5C,note:''},
{shape:M7_6,note:'iv7 low'},{shape:M7_6,note:''},
{shape:M7B5_6,note:''},
{shape:DOM7B9_5,extensions:['b9'],note:''},
{shape:M7_5C,note:''},{shape:M7_5C,note:''},
{shape:M7_5C,note:''},
{shape:DOM13_6,extensions:['13'],note:'♭VI13'},
{shape:MAJ9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'♭IImaj9'},
{shape:MAJ9_5,extensions:['9'],note:''},
{shape:M7B5_6,note:''},
{shape:DOM7B9_5,extensions:['b9'],note:''},
{shape:M7_5C,note:''},{shape:M7_5C,note:''},
],
tips:'Blue Bossa\'s tonic is a true m7 — save the m6 colour for tunes that ask for it (see the minor ii–V–i cell). Keep all of it at whisper volume.',
},
],
'bossa-one-note':[
{
label:'Two grips falling by half-steps (A-string roots)',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:M7_5,note:'iii7'},
{shape:DOM9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'♭III9 — same fret region, one finger reshapes'},
{shape:M7_5,note:'ii7 — whole grip slides down'},
{shape:DOM9_5,extensions:['9'],note:'♭II9'},
],
tips:'The entire progression is two grips alternating while the thumb walks down chromatically. Hold one melody note on top if you can reach it — that\'s the whole point of the tune.',
},
{
label:'Low-E roots with 13s',
level:'intermediate',
chords:[
{shape:M7_6,note:''},
{shape:DOM13_6,extensions:['13'],note:'♭III13'},
{shape:M7_6,note:''},
{shape:DOM13_6,extensions:['13'],note:'♭II13'},
],
tips:'The 13 on top of each dominant descends in parallel with the bass — two chromatic lines moving in lockstep, which is why this progression sounds inevitable.',
tips:'The low E string walks down one fret per bar — let that bassline sing through the grips. This is the same passing-diminished device as How Insensitive; learn it once, hear it everywhere in Jobim.',
tips:'When the singer holds the tonic, swap the maj9 for a 6/9 grab (7th down to the 6) — no leading tone to fight them. Over a detected maj7, stay with the maj9.',
},
],
},
improv:{
scales:[
{over:'ii7 / i7 / iv7',scale:'dorian',why:'All the minor 7ths take Dorian — bossa is jazz harmony in a swimsuit.'},
{over:'V7 → major I',scale:'mixolydian',why:'Plain Mixolydian when resolving to major; add the 13 — it\'s the genre\'s favourite colour.'},
{over:'II7 / ♭II7 (tritone subs)',scale:'lydian',why:'Lydian dominant (melodic minor from the 5th) — the ♯11 is already in the chord grip.'},
{over:'V7♭9 → minor i',scale:'phrygian',why:'Phrygian dominant (harmonic minor from the V) for the ♭9; the altered scale if you want more trouble.'},
{over:'iiø7',scale:'locrian',why:'Locrian, or raise the 2 (melodic-minor mode 6) for a smoother colour.'},
],
targetNotes:
'Bossa solos are melody-first: hold or repeat a small cell and let the CHORDS recontextualise it — One Note Samba is the method stated as a song title. Target the colour tones (9, 13, ♯11) and the 3rd/7th guide-tone line; avoid sitting on roots. Phrase behind the beat and leave bar-length gaps.',
licks:[
{
over:'bossa-ipanema',
description:'The Ipanema opening cell: the melody sits on the 9th and major 7th of the Imaj7 — never the root. The identical two notes work over the II7 bars, where they become root and 13.',
tab:'e|--3--------------3-----------\nB|------5--5--3--------5--5----\n G E E D G E E\n (9) (7)(7)(6) (9) (7)(7) over Fmaj7',
source:'"Garota de Ipanema" — Jobim/de Moraes (Real Book lead sheet; mDecks harmonic analysis)',
character:'A whole samba band condensed into one quiet guitar: metronomic thumb bass, syncopated chord block that never accents beat 3, and jazz harmony at conversation volume.',
songs:['The Girl from Ipanema — Jobim','Desafinado (same II7 colour)'],
tip:'The II7 is a true dominant-II (Lydian ♭7 colour), and the ♭II7 is the tritone sub of V — the bass slides home by half-step instead of jumping a fifth.',
tip:'i–iv–iiø–V in minor, then a complete ii–V–I excursion a half-step up (♭II major) in bars 9–12. The jam-session bossa: everyone knows it, nobody minds another chorus.',
},
{
id:'bossa-one-note',
name:'Chromatic ii–V chain (One Note Samba)',
rn:['iii7','♭III7','ii7','♭II7'],
degrees:[4,3,2,1],
qualities:['min7','dom7','min7','dom7'],
bars:[1,1,1,1],
mode:'major',
songs:['One Note Samba — Jobim'],
tip:'iii–VI–ii–V with both dominants tritone-subbed: the bass walks straight down by half-steps while one melody note holds on top. Two grips, alternating, falling.',
tip:'A chromatic staircase into the I: m6 → passing diminished → ii → tritone sub. (Charts vary on bar 2 — some write a II7(13) instead of the ♭iii°7; both are in circulation.)',
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