Brazilian · samba · 2/2 straight

Samba piano comp

200 bpm Loop: all
16ths
Clave
Piano
Bass

Mixer

Keyboard

Samba comping, one-bar pattern — Valerio's first samba model (Track 62 A). "Sambas often feature one-measure repeating rhythmic patterns": a chord on beat 1, a rest, then a chord on the and-of-2 (in cut time: the second eighth after the half-bar) that is held through the rest of the bar. The left hand and bass play the surdo: half notes, root then fifth, with the second one heavier.

The feel: samba is in 2, fast, and the second beat of each bar is the strong one — the opposite of what a 4/4 ear expects. The held chord that starts just after beat 2 is what gives the pattern its lift. The percussion layer is a plain eighth-note pulse; samba has no clave in the Cuban sense (the tamborim's partido alto is in the guitar pattern).

Listen for the long chord ringing against the next bar's bass note; keep the first chord short.

Practice: tap the bass half notes with your foot, accent the second; then place the and-of-2 chord so that it lands just before the foot comes down. Tempo is the quarter note, so 200 = half note 100.

Sources

  • Valerio, Latin Jazz Piano, Track 62 A (samba, one-measure pattern)

Keyboard

Space
Play / pause
← →
Loop the previous / next bar
1–6
Mute layer 1–6
[ ]
Tempo −5 / +5
?
This sheet