Chord & FretCateretê · Guitar
Cateretê (viola caipira)
Sound summary
Cateretê is played with a rasgueado — 2/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the guitar: the rasgueado (R) leads — the fingers sweep the chord in a roll. It sounds like this: B A↑ A↑ AR.
How to count it
In 2/4, each bar has 2 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Speak the count: 1 e, 2 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 · R = rasgueado (finger roll)
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
How to play it
Right hand
The hallmark is the rasgueado (R): the hand fires the fingers in sequence, a fast downward roll that lands on the beat — pinky, ring, middle, index, in that order.
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.
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
- 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.
- Losing the pulse. The time has to stay firm start to finish — count along and don’t let the pattern speed up or drag by accident.
Guided practice
- Open the fan slowly. Play just the rasgueado (R), feeling each finger fire in sequence.
- Fit it into the bar. Place the roll on its beat and fill the rest with the plain strokes.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
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 roll lands cleanly on the beat. 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 Cateretê progressions. That trains rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise — the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord & Fret.
Train with progressions →The page explains; the real practice — repeating, timing on the metronome, listening, applying to progressions and reviewing — is in Chord & Fret. Save this pattern in your study to pick it up later, play offline and watch your progress.
Start training →