Chord and FretValsa · Guitar
Sertanejo waltz
Sound summary
Valsa is played with a bass-and-chord figure — 3/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the guitar: the bass (B) comes from the thumb and the chord (A) follows. To the ear: B A A.
How to count it
The meter is 3/4: 3 beats per bar, counted in one strum per beat. Speak the count: 1 2 3. Tap your foot on the strong beat and read the grid above: each cell is one beat.
The rhythm grid
B = bass (thumb) · A = chord block (i-m-a together, no sweep)
The thumb bass and the i-m-a block follow the two-voice violão notation (Silva & Madeira 2021).
How to play it
Right hand
The strumming hand alternates two voices. The thumb (or the pick on the bass strings) plays the bass (B) and marks the pulse; the fingers (or a down-stroke) answer with the chord (A) right after. The chord (A) is a finger block (i-m-a), not a sweep: the thumb never plays the bass strings along with it.
Left hand
Keep the chord well pressed through the whole pattern — the left hand rules pitch, the right rules the bar. Only release the shape at the end of the bar, moving the hand ahead to the next one.
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
- Bass and chord landing together. The bass (B) comes first; the chord (A) answers after. If they collide the groove disappears — separate the two hands in time.
- Losing the pulse. The time has to stay firm start to finish — count along and don’t let the pattern speed up or drag by accident.
Guided practice
- Start from the low end. Play just the B with the thumb, slow, watching each one land in place.
- 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 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 the bass and the chord sit apart in time. That’s what Chord and Fret does, with guided audio and an adjustable tempo.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to actual Valsa progressions: rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise. That’s the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord and Fret.
Apply to progressions →Understanding the groove is the first step; the full practice — repetition, metronome, audio, progressions and review — happens in Chord and Fret. There this pattern stays saved in your study, to revisit later, play offline and track your progress.
Start training →