Chord and FretBaião · Guitar
Baião (thumb figure + finger answers)
Sound summary
Baião is played with a bass-and-chord figure — 2/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the guitar: the bass (B) comes from the thumb and the chord (A) follows. In practice it sounds: B — A B — — A —.
How to count it
The meter is 2/4: 2 beats per bar, counted in sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Speak the count: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. Foot on the beat, follow the grid above — each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
B = bass (thumb) · A = chord block (i-m-a together, no sweep) · — = rest
The thumb bass and the i-m-a block follow the two-voice violão notation (Silva & Madeira 2021).
How to play it
Right hand
Split the right hand in two: the thumb drops the bass (B) on the pulse, then the chord (A) fills in — fingers or a down-stroke. It is a pinch: the thumb stays on the bass strings and i-m-a pull the three treble strings together — never sweep across all the strings. On the rests, let the thumb and fingers settle on their next strings — ready, without cutting the sound early.
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.
Example in G
Take a G: the bass (B) is the low G, and the G chord (A) answers next. Play it slowly, following the diagram and the sound.
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.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Stopping the arm on the rests. The hand never stops — it keeps swinging in the air and only touches the strings on the next hit. That’s what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Bass alone. Play only the B hits (thumb), very slowly, feeling each one land in time.
- Chord alone. Now play only the A hits, answering the bass, without the bass note.
- Add the two voices. Bass then chord, always in that order, slow, until it plays itself.
- 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.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to actual Baião progressions: rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise. That’s the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord and Fret.
Train with 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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