Chord and FretPartido alto · Cavaquinho
Partido alto (cavaquinho palhetada, Rego 2)
Sound summary
The Partido alto pattern is a bass-and-chord figure for the cavaquinho, in 2/4 straight (even subdivisions): the pick splits the cavaquinho into low and high: short strokes on the bass courses (B) and the whole chord (A) answering. It sounds like this: — A↓ (x) A↓ B↓ — A↓ (x) B↓ (x) A↓ (x) B↓ A↓ A↑ B↓.
How to count it
There are 2 beats per bar (2/4), split into sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Speak the count: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. Keep the beat with your foot and follow the grid: each box is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
B = bass courses (a short ↓ pick stroke on the two low strings) · A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke · x = muted · (x) = ghost (light graze) · — = rest
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017). The short stroke on the bass courses (TU) follows Rego 2010. The muted and ghost strokes follow Cantalice 2022.
How to play it
Right hand
The low end comes from the pick itself: a short down-stroke on the bass courses (B), only the two low strings, and the full chord (A) answering on the other strokes. On the (x), touch the hand to the strings at the attack — a muted bass, more percussion than note. On the rests the arm keeps going: it stays in motion in the air and lands again on the next hit.
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. On the muted hits (x), ease the finger pressure without leaving the neck: the strings stop ringing but stay under the fingers, ready for the next chord.
Example in Am
On Am, the bass (B) lands on E on the low string, the chord’s lowest note: sound it on the beat and let the Am chord (A) complete right after. Use the diagram and the audio example.
Common mistakes
- Gluing bass and chord to the same instant. The B has to come first and the A answer — if they land together, the bass-chord bounce vanishes.
- Skipping the mute. The (x) hits aren’t chord, they’re percussion. Without them the bounce flattens into a lifeless strum.
- Up-strokes as hard as down-strokes. The up-stroke (↑) is lighter and catches only the treble strings — equal force thickens and drags it.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
Guided practice
- Start from the low end. Play just the B with the thumb, slow, watching each one land in place.
- Isolate the chord. Drop the bass and play only the A hits, feeling where they answer.
- Add the two voices. Bass then chord, always in that order, slow, until it plays itself.
- Bring in the (x). Lay the hand on the strings on those hits so the percussive “chka” enters the groove.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
You’ve got the theory; now the time has to enter the body. Play along with the audio, follow the count and raise the metronome bit by bit until the bass and the chord sit apart in time — Chord and Fret runs that drill with an adjustable tempo.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over real Partido alto progressions. That trains rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise — the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord and Fret.
Apply to progressions →The page explains; the real practice — repeating, timing on the metronome, listening, applying to progressions and reviewing — is in Chord and Fret. Save this pattern in your study to pick it up later, play offline and watch your progress.
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