Chord & FretCoco · Guitar
Coco (de roda) guitar groove
Sound summary
The Coco 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. To the ear: B — A↑ A↓ B A↑ x A↑.
How to count it
In 2/4, each bar has 2 beats, counted in sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Say the beats: 1 e & a, 2 e & a. 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 · x = muted · — = rest
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
The strumming hand alternates two voices. The thumb (or the pick on the bass strings) plays the bass (B) and marks the pulse; the fingers (or a down-stroke) answer with the chord (A) right after. On the (x) hits, rest the hand on the strings as you strike: a muted low note with no definite pitch. Don’t stop the arm on the rests — it keeps moving in the air, it just doesn’t touch the strings.
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. For the (x), loosen the fingers without lifting off the strings — they go silent but stay put, ready to ring again.
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.
- Skipping the mute. The (x) hits aren’t chord, they’re percussion. Without them the bounce flattens into a lifeless strum.
- Up-strokes as hard as down-strokes. The up-stroke (↑) is lighter and catches only the treble strings — equal force thickens and drags it.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
Guided practice
- Start from the low end. Play just the B with the thumb, slow, watching each one land in place.
- 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.
- Add the mute. Bring in the x hits by resting the hand on the strings — that percussion is the bounce.
- 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 metronome bit by bit until the bass and the chord sit apart in time — Chord & Fret runs that drill with an adjustable tempo.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over real Coco 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 →