Son montuno · Guitar
Son montuno guitar rhythm: 2-3 guajeo
The son montuno guitar rhythm in 4/4: the thumb plays the bass (B) and the strum only goes up (↑). Beat by beat, one mark per eighth note, with · where there is no stroke: B↑ ·↑ ·↑ ·B | ·↑ ·↑ ·↑ ·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
For the guitar, Son montuno uses a bass-and-chord figure, in 4/4 straight (even subdivisions): it alternates thumb bass (B) and chord (A), one answering the other. It sounds like this: B A↑ — A↑ — A↑ — B — A↑ — A↑ — A↑ — B.
How to count it
There are 4 beats per bar (4/4), split into eighth-notes (two per beat). Say the beats: 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 · ↑ up-stroke · — = no stroke
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
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. 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.
Example in C
On C, the bass (B) lands on C on the low string, the chord’s root: sound it on the beat and let the C chord (A) complete right after. Use the diagram and the audio example.
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.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- 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.
- 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.
Open the trainer →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to Son montuno 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 →