The Cavaquinho Chord Bible: DGBD Standard Tuning 1,728 Chords (Fretted Friends Series)

This book is almost completely useless for anyone interested in Brazilian cavaquinho. The author must have no experience whatsoever, because all of the chord voicings are completely incorrect - that is, they contain the notes of the chords to which they refer, but they are not the voicings used by any Brazilian cavaquinho player. Just as one example: D chords are voiced here so as to have the low D string sounding open, and nobody - NOBODY - plays a D chords that way under normal circumstances (open ringing strings are typically avoided in cavaquinho performance practice). The D doesn't need to be in the bass, as a violão or sete cordas will carry the root anyway. Tremendously disappointing: save your money, and just look online - in Portuguese - for correct chord voicings.

nice book of chords. now is the hard party, learning the cavaquinho

Good Book, and great seller.

It's nearly impossible to find any books about Cavaquinhos in English. This is a great, comprehensive chord book. Essential!It would have been nice to have an additional section with standard chord structures for songs, but that is a tiny gripe. It's easy enough to put that together with some tab paper.I am grateful to have this book and I highly recommend it.

Note that this book is for Cavaquinho tuned DGBD. This is the usual tuning for Brazilian cavaquinhos, but some soloists use DGBE, like a baritone uke or a guitar, but an octave higher. If you want to solo a a lot and you play guitar already, and you want to use the DGBE tuning, this book won’t be very useful. However, GDBD is also the tuning for strings 1-4 on a five string banjo and a dobro in open G tuning, so if you play either of those, this is a familiar tuning, though you still have a lot to learn. Cavaquinho is primarily used when playing Choro or Samba. Choro is a really wonderful sort of music. I think most cavaquinho players in Choro rarely solo, preferring to play the chord rhythm patterns or beats (batidas) that help give Choro its special sound in Choro. However, you can also solo using this tuning. If you want to play mostly chords for Choro songs, you should also buy my book “Choro Grilles,” which gives you the chords for most of the songs you are likely to hear. Learn the chord fingerings here, then use my book to have the chords for the songs in an easy-to-follow format.One thing with which I strongly disagree. Richards writes on p. 5, “If you are a beginner and are naturally left handed, don’t get persuaded into buying a right-handed instrument—it won’t work.” Garbage! I’m a left hander who has played finger style guitar right-handed for fifty years and jazz and bluegrass mandolin for fifteen. Think about it. If you are left- handed, which hand is more “dextrous”? Which is the dominant hand?Your left. Fast and accurate finger movements. What do you do with your right hand? Strum or use your fingers. So what is considered a right-handed instrument is actually the best one for someone who is left-handed. Of course a new instrument is awkward at first, but don’t buy a left-handed cavaquinho and get stuck with a mediocre one, such as any Gianinni.One thing I like about this book is the four pages of movable chords without open strings at the end of the book. Learn these and you can quickly play any Choro. And you don’t even need all of them. The chords you need for Choro are major, major7, minor, minor6, minor7, minor9, 6th, 6/9, 7th, 7b9, 9th, dim7, half-diminished, and augmented. Some of those are only rarely used. All of these are on those pages of movable chords. Learn one form for low on the neck and one for high on the neck for each of these. (Why? Because one position may have common chords down near the nut and another may have those chords seven frets up. It’s useful to know patterns that will let you play all the chords in a song without shifting where your hand is very much.) Playing Choro is a lot like playing songs in the Great American Songbook. They are easy jazz chords. (Note that if you can play these Choro chords, you can also play Bossa Nova).Cavaquinho isn’t used for three-chord bluegrass songs very often. Well, never. On the other hand, where I live there are at least three big ukulele jams every week. Go to a ukulele jam with a cavaquinho and you will have the loudest instrument in the room, and you can play solo as well as chord melodies. (This book doesn’t count double stops as chords, but they are partial chords that can be used a LOT in solos.) Learn the Choro chord patterns listed above and you can play along with the great Lyle Ritz on his uke versions of the Great American Songbook. Also, go to the iTunes Store and type in Beatles ‘n’ Choro. There are about five albums of Beatles songs played by Choro instruments. Amazing. Listen to the great Henrique Cazes play “Blackbird” on his cavaquinho. Beautiful.

Great Book saves you hours of of fiddling about although fiddling about is alsoworthwhile this will kick start your progress