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Chord & Fret

Ionian on cavaquinho (C)

Ionian in C: C – D – E – F – G – A – B. On the cavaquinho, four steel strings pack the scale into a short, bright space — there is nowhere for a note to hide. The box shown runs from fret 1 to 4; the lowest tonic sits on the 2nd string, fret 1, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift. Its four steel strings give a bright, sharp attack that cuts through the mix and drives the beat.

Once the shape is memorized, play the box in thirds — the real memory test.

Scale diagramHorizontal fretboard with 4 strings, frets 0–4.1234234567712234
Frets 1–4

Read the dots by degree: 1 is the tonic (highlighted); the rest follow the scale's formula.

A scale never lives in one box — Ionian on cavaquinho has 4 more positions along the neck. In Chord & Fret, you drill it in Exercise mode — in thirds, pairs or sequences, with the BPM climbing every repetition; switch the dot labels between degrees, note names and fingers; and choose to start from the tonic or play the full box. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. 100% offline. See it in Chord & Fret →

See the full explanation of the Ionian scale →