Chord & FretFlamenco · Andalusian cadence — Cavaquinho
What is the Flamenco · Andalusian cadence progression?
The Flamenco · Andalusian cadence progression is Am → G → F → E (i – bVII – bVI – V), in the key of A. Read as harmonic function it moves tonic → dominant → subdominant → dominant, arriving home on a cadence. Play one chord per bar and let it loop.
Four chords, a whole story: Am (i, home) → G (bVII, time to come back) → F (bVI, the stroll) → E (V, time to come back). Hit play. First pass, just listen. Second pass, follow with your finger on the names — and notice that by the second-to-last chord, your body already knows Am — home — is coming.
Cavaquinho
Its chords sound tight and punchy; instead of holding long shapes, it keeps the beat moving with short, repeated strums. The cavaquinho isn't the traditional voice of bolero or salsa, yet its bright, off-beat strumming is a close cousin of the chopped chords those styles love. Its home chord Am keeps its lowest note on E.
Cadences — Harmony comes to rest here — hear every cadence type and train your ear · use it in Chord & Fret
Save this progression in Chord & FretReharmonize — Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize the progression in a tap · try it in Chord & Fret
Learn each chord of the trip
This is one shape of Am. In Chord & Fret, you open every position of all 4 chords in this progression along the neck — on any instrument, and hear each one. Open in Chord & Fret →
Metronome — Drill this change in time, with tap tempo and subdivisions · open in Chord & Fret
If this scale won you over, the Chord & Fret app plays it along with you — any key, any tuning. It's on the App Store and Google Play.