Bolero · Guitar
Bolero guitar rhythm: cinquillo
The bolero guitar rhythm in 2/4: the thumb plays the bass (B) and the i-m-a fingers answer with the chord as one block (A). Beat by beat, one mark per sixteenth note, with · where there is no stroke: B·AA ·AA·. 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 Bolero pattern is a bass-and-chord figure for the guitar, in 2/4 straight (even subdivisions): the bass (B) comes from the thumb and the chord (A) follows. In practice it sounds: B — A a — A A —.
How to count it
There are 2 beats per bar (2/4), split into sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Say the beats: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. Foot on the beat, follow the grid above — each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
B = bass (thumb) · A = chord block (i-m-a together, no sweep) · a = light block · — = no stroke
The thumb bass and the i-m-a block follow the two-voice violão notation (Silva & Madeira 2021).
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. The chord (A) is a finger block (i-m-a), not a sweep: the thumb never plays the bass strings along with it. On the rests, let the thumb and fingers settle on their next strings — ready, without cutting the sound early.
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 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.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- Stopping the arm on the rests. The hand never stops — it keeps swinging in the air and only touches the strings on the next hit. That’s what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Bass alone. Play only the B hits (thumb), very slowly, feeling each one land in time.
- Chord alone. Now play only the A hits, answering the bass, without the bass note.
- Put the hands together. Bass first, chord after — slowly, until the alternation is automatic.
- 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 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 Bolero 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 →