Frevo · Cavaquinho
Frevo cavaquinho rhythm: carnival march
The frevo cavaquinho rhythm in 2/4: the strum goes down (↓) and up (↑) and muted strokes (x) keep the groove. Beat by beat, one mark per sixteenth note: ↓xx↑ ↓x↓x | xx↓x ↓xxx. Play the audio here in your browser, set the tempo anywhere from 50 to 200 BPM and follow the grid, which marks every subdivision.
Sound summary
Frevo is played with a chord strum — 2/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the cavaquinho: the chord (A) swings back and forth, down and up, and the muted hits (x) give it bounce. It sounds like this: A↓ (x) (x) A↑ A↓ (x) A↓ (x) (x) (x) A↓ (x) A↓ (x) (x) (x).
How to count it
The meter is 2/4: 2 beats per bar, counted in sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Speak the count: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. Keep the beat with your foot and follow the grid: each box is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke · x = muted · (x) = ghost (light graze)
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017). The muted and ghost strokes follow Cantalice 2022.
How to play it
Right hand
The chord (A) swings: down (↓) with weight, up (↑) light, catching only the treble strings. Keep the arm loose, oscillating without stopping. On the (x), lay the hand on the strings as you strike — that muted “chka” is what lets the groove breathe.
Left hand
The left hand gives the harmony: hold the whole shape clean from start to finish, leaving the right hand to the rhythm. Make the change on the last beat, the hand already heading to the next chord. On the muted hits (x), ease the finger pressure without leaving the neck: the strings stop ringing but stay under the fingers, ready for the next chord.
Example in D7
Hold a D7D7D7D7 and apply the whole pattern to it — every hit lands on the same chord. That’s how you take the groove into any song: change only the left hand, the right hand’s rhythm stays the same. Hear the example below.
Common mistakes
- Letting the (x) ring like a note. It is percussion, not chord — if you don’t mute, the groove loses the “chka” that drives it.
- Weighing down the up-stroke. The up (↑) should just graze the thin strings; matching the down-stroke’s force thickens it and drags the time.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- 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 all down. Strum the chord down (↓) on every stroke, one direction only.
- Bring in the up-stroke. Let the arm rise (↑) lightly between hits, grazing the thin strings.
- Bring in the (x). Lay the hand on the strings on those hits so the percussive “chka” enters the groove.
- Take it up on the metronome. Start slow, keep the pattern clean, and add a few BPM at a time.
You already get the logic of the groove. Now put it in time: hear the pattern, follow the count and practice slowly until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. In Chord and Fret, the Metronome and the Rhythm Trainer help with that drill, free.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Frevo progressions: rhythm and chord changes in one exercise. In Chord and Fret, Progressions by Rhythm plays progressions from many styles, with diagrams and audio, free.
Train with progressions →