Sertanejo caipira (Brazilian country) progression on ukulele
What is the Sertanejo caipira (Brazilian country) progression?
The Sertanejo caipira (Brazilian country) progression is G, C and D (I–IV–V), in the key of G major. Read as harmonic function it moves tonic → subdominant → dominant, arriving home on a cadence. Play one chord per bar and let it loop.
Four chords, a whole story: G (I, home) → C (IV, the stroll) → D (V, time to come back). Hit play. First pass, just listen. Second pass, follow with your finger on the names — and notice that by the second-to-last chord, your body already knows G — home — is coming.
Ukulele
Its fourth string is tuned higher than you would expect, so a chord's notes bunch close together instead of spreading from low to high, giving that clear, chiming sound. Brazilian styles are not the ukulele's home turf: it can carry a gentle bossa nova, but the percussive drive of samba, choro and pagode asks for more bite and low-end punch than its soft nylon strings can give. Its home chord G keeps its lowest note on D and rings 1 open string.
Cadences: Harmony comes to rest here: hear cadences on the neck, 9 free and another one each week · open in Chord and Fret
Save this progression in Chord and Fret♪ The groove is the waltz — three beats to the bar: the bass on one and the chord on two and three, the lilt of the sertanejo and caipira tradition.
Reharmonize: Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize's Subtle and Medium levels are free; Bold and Jazz are part of Pro · see it in Chord and Fret
Learn each chord of the trip
This is one shape of G. In the app, every chord in this progression comes with its other shapes and audio, free. Open in Chord and Fret →
Metronome: Drill this change in time, with tap tempo and subdivisions · try it in Chord and Fret