Ever wanted to learn to play the Samba?
Learn in under 5 minutes!

Breaking Down Tricky Rhythms

The fabulous, Hugo will break down intimidating rhythmic values into bite sized pieces to get you on the fast track to playing the Samba with ease.

Step 1 - Where the Rhythms Come From

The Samba is traditionally played with a multitude of percussion instruments. When playing the Samba on guitar (or any chordal instrument), we will highlight the tambourim + bass drum patterns in our playing. The bass drum pattern a steady quarter note, while the tambourim rhythm will be a bit more involved.

Step 2 - Two Main Rhythmic Ideas

The Samba pattern in 2/4 can be broken down into two main rhythmic ideas. These two patterns occur over the course of one beat each. The first part is syncopated, meaning that the “up beat” or “off beat” is emphasized. The rhythm for part two is the opposite, occurring on the “down beats,” when subdivided to sixteenth notes.

Step 3 - Full Rhythm

You’re almost there! The Samba pattern consists of a two bar phrase. So, once you have the first measure of our two bar phrase down, all you have to do is play them again in reverse order.