Chord & FretCateretê · Guitar
Slow cateretê (viola caipira)
Sound summary
The Cateretê 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↓ A↑ A↑ A↓ — — —.
How to count it
In 4/4, each bar has 4 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Count out loud: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e, 4 e. Keep the beat with your foot and follow the grid: each box is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
B = bass (thumb) · A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke · — = rest
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
How to play it
Right hand
Split the right hand in two: the thumb drops the bass (B) on the pulse, then the chord (A) fills in — fingers or a down-stroke. On the rests the arm keeps going: it stays in motion in the air and lands again on the next hit.
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.
Example in G
Over a G chord, the bass (B) is the note G on the low string — the chord’s root. Play that bass on the pulse and let the whole G answer right after. Hear the example and follow the diagram.
Common mistakes
- Gluing bass and chord to the same instant. The B has to come first and the A answer — if they land together, the bass-chord bounce vanishes.
- 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.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- 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
- Start from the low end. Play just the B with the thumb, slow, watching each one land in place.
- 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.
- 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 the bass and the chord sit apart in time. That’s what Chord & Fret does, with guided audio and an adjustable tempo.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to actual Cateretê progressions: rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise. That’s the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord & Fret.
Apply to 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.
Open the trainer →