Chord & FretVira · Cavaquinho
Vira (Minho cavaquinho)
Sound summary
For the cavaquinho, Vira uses a chord strum, in 3/4 straight (even subdivisions): the groove strums the chord (A) up and down. It sounds like this: A↓ A↑ A↓ A↑ A↓ A↑.
How to count it
There are 3 beats per bar (3/4), split into eighth-notes (two per beat). Count out loud: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e. Tap your foot on the strong beat and read the grid above: each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
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.
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.
Example in G
Grab a G and play the full strum over it: each stroke is the same chord. To carry it into any song, change only the shape in the left hand — the right hand’s rhythm doesn’t change. Listen below.
Common mistakes
- 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.
- Letting the tempo drift. Without a firm pulse the strum leaks — count along and hold the same time from the first bar to the last.
Guided practice
- Down-strokes only. Strum the chord on every down-stroke (↓), no up-stroke yet.
- Add the up-stroke. Let the arm come back (↑) between hits — lighter, catching the treble strings.
- 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. Putting it in time is where it enters your fingers: hear the pattern, follow the count and practice with a metronome — slow first — until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. That’s what Chord & Fret does, with guided audio and an adjustable tempo.
Practice in Chord & Fret →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over real Vira progressions. That trains rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise — the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord & Fret.
See the genre’s progressions →Understanding the groove is the first step; the full practice — repetition, metronome, audio, progressions and review — happens in Chord & Fret. There this pattern stays saved in your study, to revisit later, play offline and track your progress.
Start training →