Bossa nova and flamenco

Bossa nova and flamenco were born in different places and times, but both put the nylon-string guitar at the centre and both have a cultural world behind them far bigger than the guitar: samba and Brazilian song in one case; the song, dance and life of Andalusian and Gitano communities in the other.

The bossa nova guitar does the job of a whole samba percussion section with one hand:

• The thumb plays the bass with absolute regularity, like the surdo (samba's deep drum). It often alternates root and fifth, or repeats the root.
• The fingers i, m and a pluck the chord on the treble strings in a syncopated figure that repeats every two bars.

That finger figure is related to the clave, the rhythmic key that organises many Afro-Latin musics. A version widely used in bossa is this two-bar one: three strokes in the first bar and two in the second.

Theory deep diveWhy 4/4 if it's usually written in 2/4?

Bossa nova is often written in 2/4 with sixteenths, inheriting samba notation. Here we write it in 4/4 with eighths, which is the same thing with values twice as long: two bars of 2/4 in sixteenths equal one bar of 4/4 in eighths. That way the thumb falls on beats 1 and 3, which in 2/4 would be the two beats of each bar.

Bossa nova harmony is very close to jazz: almost every chord has a seventh, and many have ninths and thirteenths. They are played with four notes, no doublings, with the bass on the sixth or fifth string and the tensions on top.

Play: Dm9 Play: G13 Play: Cmaj9 Play: A7♭9

Watch the note on the second string: E, E, D, E. It barely moves, and yet it changes role in every chord (ninth, thirteenth, ninth, fifth). In A7♭9, B♭ is added on top, a tension that asks to return to the opening Dm9. It is the same smooth voice leading you saw in jazz: little changes, but every change is heard.

Now put thumb, fingers and chords together. The thumb plays the root on beats 1 and 3; the fingers play strings 4, 3 and 2 (or 4 to 1 in the last chord) at the clave positions. Odd bars play the "three" side and even bars the "two" side.

1. 1Dm9ii9
2. 2G13V13
3. 3Cmaj9Imaj9
4. 4A7♭9VI7b9

Flamenco is organised into palos: forms with their own compás, harmony and character, such as soleá, bulería, alegrías, tangos or seguiriya. Many palos share a harmonic centre that is neither major nor minor: the flamenco mode, a Phrygian whose home chord is major.

Its most recognisable gesture is the Andalusian cadence: four chords stepping down to a major chord that sounds like arrival. "Por arriba", that is, with the home chord on E:

1. 1Amiv
2. 2GbIII
3. 3FbII
4. 4EI

Look at the numerals: in the flamenco mode on E, E is I and F is bII, a half step above. That's why melodies use the E Phrygian scale and, when the home chord sounds, its major third G♯: Phrygian dominant.

String 6, Open: E2 · 1 · Root

Theory deep diveMinor or modal?

If you hear the cadence as Am–G–F–E in A minor, it would end on a half cadence (the V). In flamenco, however, the ear comes to rest on E: it is the tonic of a system of its own. Ethnomusicologist Peter Manuel describes it as a harmonic system distinct from major-minor tonality, centred on the major chord built on the first degree of the Phrygian. That's why guitarists speak of playing "por arriba" (on E) or "por medio" (on A) rather than of "keys".

Flamenco's compás isn't just a time signature: it is the cycle everyone (singing, dance, palmas and guitar) shares. Soleá, alegrías and bulería use a twelve-beat cycle with accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12.

Count out loud from 1 to 12 and clap hard on the accents. Then listen to this basic study outline for soleá por arriba, with the accented strokes louder:

E · E · E · F · F · F · G · G · F · E · E · E

1. ↓down1
2. ↓down2
3. ↓down3
4. ↓down4
5. ↓down5
6. ↓down6
7. ↓down7
8. ↓down8
9. ↓down9
10. ↓down10
11. ↓down11
12. ↓down12

The flamenco guitarist's right hand has a repertoire of its own, different from classical guitar:

• Rasgueado: the fingers flick out one after another from a closed hand and strike the strings like a fan. The most common is the four-stroke: little finger, ring, middle and index, in a row, downwards. Chaining them (and adding an index upstroke) gives a continuous rasgueado that sounds like a drum roll. The abanico is a triplet rasgueado combining fingers and thumb.
• Picado: fast scales with alternating index and middle fingers, using rest strokes, with a strong, articulate sound.
• Golpe: a tap of the ring finger on the golpeador, the protective plate on the top, often together with a chord stroke. It is part of the rhythm.
• Alzapúa: the thumb strikes down and up like a pick, alternating bass notes and chords.

This original picado passage runs through E Phrygian in first position and ends on the home chord. Alternate i-m without exception, even when crossing strings:

Practice

Bossa pattern over ii–V–I–VI

55–90 BPM10 min

1. Thumb only: roots on beats 1 and 3 for one minute, with a metronome.
2. Fingers only: the clave figure on one chord, counting "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &".
3. Put both hands together on Dm9 until you don't have to think.
4. Play the full progression over the backing.

1. 1Dm9ii9
2. 2G13V13
3. 3Cmaj9Imaj9
4. 4A7♭9VI7b9

Goal: Play the bossa progression four times in a row at 70 BPM with a perfectly steady thumb.

Practice

Soleá compás with rasgueado

70–120 BPM8 min

1. Palmas: count 1 to 12 and accent 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
2. Play the chord outline with one thumb or index stroke per beat.
3. Replace the accented strokes with a four-stroke rasgueado, ending exactly on the beat.
4. Add the golpe on 3 and 10.

Metronome

−90 BPM+

Goal: Play three consecutive cycles of the twelve-beat compás with a four-stroke rasgueado on the accents, without losing count.

Practice

Picado in E Phrygian

50–90 BPM6 min

Play the passage with rest strokes and raise the tempo 5 BPM at a time. Then improvise your own two-bar falseta with the same notes and always end on the E chord.

Drone: E2

Goal: Play the picado passage at 70 BPM alternating i-m without repeating a finger and with every note equally loud.

Self-assessment

In bossa nova, what does the thumb do?

AIt plays chords on the off-beatsBIt plays the bass steadily, like the samba surdoCIt plays rasgueados on the accents

Listen to this bass line. Which progression does it suggest?

Listen

AAm – G – F – EBC – G – Am – FCDm7 – G7 – Cmaj7DE – A – B – E

Where do the accents of the twelve-beat compás fall?

AOn 1, 4, 7 and 10BOn 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12COn every even beatDOn 1 and 7

What is picado?

AFast scales with i-m rest strokesBA fan-like flick of the fingers across the stringsCA tap on the golpeadorDThe thumb used like a pick

Listen to this chord (Cmaj9). Which style from this stop does it suggest?

Listen

AFlamencoBBossa novaCFunk

Listen to this scale from E. Which is it?

Listen

ALydianBPhrygian dominantCMixolydian

Optional reinforcement in the portalExplore Phrygian dominant on E(opens in a new tab)