Polca · Cavaquinho
Polka cavaquinho rhythm: accented downstrokes
The polka cavaquinho rhythm in 2/4: the strum only goes down (↓). Beat by beat, one mark per sixteenth note, with · where there is no stroke: ↓·(↓)↓ ↓·↓·. 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
Polca is played with a chord strum — 2/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the cavaquinho: the groove drives the chord (A) with down-strokes, and the muted hits (x) give it bounce. In practice it sounds: A↓ — (A↓) A↓ A↓ — A↓ —.
How to count it
In 2/4, each bar has 2 beats, counted in sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Speak the count: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. Tap your foot on the strong beat and read the grid above: each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · x = muted · (x) = ghost (light graze) · — = no stroke
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) is strummed down only (↓): keep the arm level, each down-stroke the same force and spacing. On the (x), lay the hand on the strings as you strike — that muted “chka” is what lets the groove breathe. On the rests the arm keeps going: it stays in motion in the air and lands again on the next hit.
Left hand
Keep the chord well pressed through the whole pattern — the left hand rules pitch, the right rules the bar. Only release the shape at the end of the bar, moving the hand ahead to the next one. For the (x), loosen the fingers without lifting off the strings — they go silent but stay put, ready to ring again.
Example in G
Hold a G 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
- Skipping the mute. The (x) hits aren’t chord, they’re percussion. Without them the bounce flattens into a lifeless strum.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- Freezing the arm on a rest. It should keep going in the air, off the strings, and land on the next hit — the continuous motion is what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Start all down. Strum the chord down (↓) on every stroke, one direction only.
- Even the strokes out. Focus on keeping every down-stroke the same force and spacing.
- Add the mute. Bring in the x hits by resting the hand on the strings — that percussion is the bounce.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
You’ve got the theory; now the time has to enter the body. Play along with the audio, follow the count and raise the tempo bit by bit until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. The Chord and Fret Metronome is free and keeps that drill steady.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Polca 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 →