Bachata · Guitar
Bachata guitar rhythm: derecho
The bachata guitar rhythm in 4/4: the thumb plays the bass (B), the strum only goes up (↑) and muted strokes (x) keep the groove. Beat by beat, one mark per eighth note: B↑ x↑ B↑ B↑. 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
The Bachata pattern is a bass-and-chord figure for the guitar, in 4/4 straight (even subdivisions): the bass (B) comes from the thumb and the chord (A) follows. It sounds like this: B A↑ x A↑ B A↑ B A↑.
How to count it
In 4/4, each bar has 4 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Speak the count: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e, 4 e. Tap your foot on the strong beat and read the grid above: each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
B = bass (thumb) · A = chord · ↑ up-stroke · x = muted
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
Bass and chord take turns: the bass (B) on the thumb first, then the chord (A) answering — always in that order, never colliding. On the (x) hits, rest the hand on the strings as you strike: a muted low note with no definite pitch.
Left hand
The fretting hand holds the chord firmly through the whole pattern — it owns the harmony while the right hand owns the rhythm. Change chords at the last instant of the bar, the hand already moving toward the next shape. For the (x), loosen the fingers without lifting off the strings — they go silent but stay put, ready to ring again.
Example in Am
Take an Am: the bass (B) is the low A, and the Am chord (A) answers next. Play it slowly, following the diagram and the sound.
Common mistakes
- Bass and chord landing together. The bass (B) comes first; the chord (A) answers after. If they collide the groove disappears — separate the two hands in time.
- 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.
- Up-strokes as hard as down-strokes. The up-stroke (↑) is lighter and catches only the treble strings — equal force thickens and drags it.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
Guided practice
- Bass alone. Play only the B hits (thumb), very slowly, feeling each one land in time.
- Isolate the chord. Drop the bass and play only the A hits, feeling where they answer.
- Put the hands together. Bass first, chord after — slowly, until the alternation is automatic.
- 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’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 the bass and the chord sit apart in time. 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 Bachata 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.
See the genre’s progressions →