How to Play Bossa Nova Guitar in F Major

Series Summary

The style of music known as Bossa Nova originated in Rio de Janeiro in the 1950's, influenced by American jazz and Brazilian samba. João Gilberto, Vinicius de Moraes and Antônio Carlos Jobim are just a few of the musicians who popularized the Brazilian jazz style, prompting performers like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra to record Bossa Nova songs. The nylon-stringed classical guitar is the musical instrument which gives Bossa Nova songs like "The Girl From Ipanema" that definitive smooth sound.

In this series of free video music lessons you'll learn how to play Bossa Nova classical guitar. Expert Ryan Larson shows you the essential scales and chord progressions you'll need to know to play Bossa Nova songs, taking you through a piece measure by measure, and offering tips on the distinctive plucking technique used by Bossa Nova guitarists.

Video Transcript

"So today we are going to learn 3 basic chords on the guitar in 3 different position on the bottom string, the A string and the D string. So you have your major chord here, a major chord here, the major chord here. We are going to go through and figure out all these different voicing and then we are going to take our F major scale which is this. As it rise on those 3 strings and we are going to go through and find out how to find the roots for all these chords. So if we have a F chord it is right here. If you have a G, F,G that is the next so that is your G chord. So by using the scale and going through a piece and analyzing it as it compares to the scale. We can find all of these different roots and then apply the appropriate chord. So we can play through any song like a breeze just by knowing one scale and a couple of chords that are associated with it. "