Chord & FretChoro · Cavaquinho
Choro (Rego 3)
Sound summary
Choro is played with a chord strum — 2/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the cavaquinho: the groove drives the chord (A) with down-strokes, and the muted hits (x) give it bounce. In practice it sounds: x A↓ A↓ A↓ x A↓ A↓ A↓.
How to count it
There are 2 beats per bar (2/4), split into sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Count out loud: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. Tap your foot on the strong beat and read the grid above: each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · x = muted
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017). The muted and ghost strokes follow Cantalice 2022.
How to play it
Right hand
Strum the chord (A) all down (↓). The trick is regularity — same force, same gap between one stroke and the next. On the (x) hits, mute: rest the hand on the strings at the attack for the percussive “chka” that gives the groove its bounce.
Left hand
The fretting hand holds the chord firmly through the whole pattern — it owns the harmony while the right hand owns the rhythm. Change chords at the last instant of the bar, the hand already moving toward the next shape. For the (x), loosen the fingers without lifting off the strings — they go silent but stay put, ready to ring again.
Example in G
Grab a G and play the full strum over it: each stroke is the same chord. To carry it into any song, change only the shape in the left hand — the right hand’s rhythm doesn’t change. Listen below.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the mute. The (x) hits aren’t chord, they’re percussion. Without them the bounce flattens into a lifeless strum.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Letting the tempo drift. Without a firm pulse the strum leaks — count along and hold the same time from the first bar to the last.
Guided practice
- Start all down. Strum the chord down (↓) on every stroke, one direction only.
- Keep the down-strokes level. Make sure each down-stroke has the same weight and the same gap.
- Add the mute. Bring in the x hits by resting the hand on the strings — that percussion is the bounce.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
You already get the logic of the groove. Putting it in time is where it enters your fingers: hear the pattern, follow the count and practice with a metronome — slow first — until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. That’s what Chord & Fret does, with guided audio and an adjustable tempo.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to actual Choro progressions: rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise. That’s the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord & Fret.
Train with progressions →The page explains; the real practice — repeating, timing on the metronome, listening, applying to progressions and reviewing — is in Chord & Fret. Save this pattern in your study to pick it up later, play offline and watch your progress.
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