Bossa Nove Guitar Tabs.

Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music popularized by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto. Bossa nova (which is Portuguese for "new trend") acquired a large following, initially by young musicians and college students. Although the bossa nova movement only lasted six years (1958–63), it contributed a number of songs to the standard jazz repertoire.

Bossa nova is at its core a rhythm based on the samba. Samba combines the rhythmic patterns and feel originating in former African slave communities. Samba's emphasis on the first beat carries through to bossa nova (to the degree that it is often notated in 2/4 time).

When played on the guitar, in a simple one-bar pattern the thumb plays the bass notes on 1 and 2, while the fingers pluck the chords in unison on the two eighth notes of beat one, followed by the second sixteenth note of beat two. Two-measure patterns usually contain a syncopation into the second measure.

Overall, the rhythm has a swaying rather than swinging (as in jazz) feel. As bossa nova composer Carlos Lyra describes it in his song "Influência do Jazz", the samba rhythm moves "side to side" while jazz moves "front to back".

In terms of harmonic structure, bossa nova has a great deal in common with jazz, in its sophisticated use of seventh and extended chords. The first bossa nova song, "Chega de Saudade," borrowed some structural elements from choro; however, later compositions rarely followed this form.

Jobim often used challenging, almost dissonant melody lines, the best-known being in the tunes "Desafinado" ("Off-Key"). Often the melody goes to the altered note in the chord. For example, if the chord is DM7#11, the note sung in the melody line there would be G#, or the sharp 11.

In the early bossa nova recordings, in terms of lyrical themes and length of songs (typically two to four minutes), bossa nova is very much a "popular music" style. However, its song structure often differs from European and North American rock-based music's standard format of two verses followed by a bridge, and a closing verse.

Bossa nova songs frequently have no more than two lyrical verses, and many lack a bridge. Some of João Gilberto's earliest recordings were less than two minutes long, and some had a single lyrical verse that was simply repeated.

Bossa nova is most commonly performed on the nylon-string classical guitar, played with the fingers rather than with a pick. Its purest form could be considered unaccompanied guitar with vocals, as exemplified by João Gilberto. Even in larger jazz-like arrangements for groups, there is almost always a guitar that plays the underlying rhythm.

Other instruments used for the bossa nove

Though not as prominent as the guitar, the piano is another important instrument of bossa nova; Jobim wrote for the piano and performed on it for most of his own recordings. The piano has also served as a stylistic bridge between bossa nova and jazz, enabling a great deal of cross-pollination between the two.

Drums and other percussion are generally not considered essential bossa nova instruments. Nonetheless, there is a distinctive bossa nova drumming style like that of Helcio Milito, characterized by continuous eighths on the high-hat (mimicking the samba tambourine) and tapping of the rim or "rim clicks" in a clave pattern. The bass drum usually mimics the string bass by playing on "1-&3-&1" as the string bass usually does.

Lush orchestral accompaniment is often associated with bossa nova's North American image as "elevator" or "lounge" music. It is present in much of Jobim's own recordings, and those of Astrud Gilberto.

Dusty Springfield would both feature and epitomize this element on her Philips (versus the Phil Ramone version she first recorded) recording of "The Look of Love" (written by Bacharach and David, the song is one of the most respected American pop interpretations of the genre). The unique aural "texture" of bossa strings, when used, is an important secondary characteristic of the genre.

Bossa nova is at heart a folk genre, and not all bossa nova records have strings, but the authentic ones that do have them feature them in a most distinct manner.

Notable bossa nove artists