Sertanejo · Guitar
Sertanejo guitar rhythm: guarânia
The sertanejo guitar rhythm in 3/4: 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 eighth note, with · where there is no stroke: BA BA 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 Sertanejo pattern is a bass-and-chord figure for the guitar, in 3/4 straight (even subdivisions): the bass (B) comes from the thumb and the chord (A) follows. It sounds like this: B A B A B —.
How to count it
In 3/4, each bar has 3 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Speak the count: 1 e, 2 e, 3 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 block (i-m-a together, no sweep) · — = 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 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
- 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.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Freezing the arm on a rest. It should keep going in the air, off the strings, and land on the next hit — the continuous motion is what holds the time.
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.
- Add the two voices. Bass then chord, always in that order, slow, until it plays itself.
- 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.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to Sertanejo progressions, putting rhythm and chord changes together. In Chord and Fret’s Progressions by Rhythm, the progressions come with diagrams and audio, free.
Train with progressions →