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Mpb — Ukulele

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. MPB is the big umbrella of Brazilian song, blending samba roots with refined harmony and storytelling lyrics. Here you'll explore the ii-V-I — in other words, the chord sequence that builds tension and resolves it like a complete sentence — and the IV to iv, the slide from a major chord to its minor twin that brings a bittersweet sigh.

Progressions

ii-V-I IV ao iv

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