How to Play Bossa Nova (Afro-Brazilian Jazz Explained) 

I was playing piano on a cruise ship doing a medley of Jobim tunes. 3 young girls came to me and began singing all my tunes in Portuguese. Their phrasing blew me away! They knew every word. I learned more that night about Brazilian music than I had my entire life!

The rhythm at 10:50 is a Brazilian rhythm that has a name- partido alto. It’s like a clave but it is also its own style of music.

I'm a Brazilian musician and I think you did a great job at creating an intro to bossa. But people have to remember that, like you said, there is a lot of variation in bossa, otherwise it sounds stiff. The short notes on the bassline for instance are not a rule, the bass can also (and more commonly does) just play long notes on the beat.

Thank you always for your guides. Bossa Nova is one of my favorites! It really shows how music makes people feel good, I think!

Excellent explanation! The only thing I'd like to add is: due being derived from Samba, most of Bossa-Nova songs are often in 2/4 bar, instead of 4/4.

The single most instructional video on RU-vid. Best tutorial in jusic I've ever seen. Literally one watch and I'm playing bossa Nova and counting rhythms I used to struggle with. I don't know how you made this so clear but don't stop making tutorials. I love your work. Thank you so much.

Just a suggestion: play the finished piece at the start.

Thank you for such a thorough video! I'm an electronic music producer who was asked by a client to write something "bossa nova-y" and was a bit stuck since jazz is not something I usually compose, this was super helpful!

00:00 Introduction & Latin jazz disambiguation 00:31 Bossa Nova history 02:06 The style 02:36 The rhythm 04:01 The “Bossa Nova clave” 06:24 Bass ostinato 09:10 Chordal comping 11:48 Melody I love bossa, I make bossa... have a listen to Boba Nova: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FncyuGQD7tE.html

The history lesson alone makes this worth the watch, really well done sir!

As a Brazilian who has a congenital natural rhythmic sense for samba, I have to say that the basis of the Afro-Cuban rhythm is the clave while the basis of the bossa nova rhythm or any other samba rhythm is the tambourine.

Bossa, like the Blues, has something primally appealing about it.

Great to have videos like this giving an introduction to different styles. When I hear an artist who borrows from a style like this, or is inspired by it, I often think, "I'd love to understand this more." But getting into things can be duanting and it's nice to have a easy starting point

Me: 2020 recommendations: bro you should def make your New Year resolution to learn how to rip some Bossa Nova on a piano

I've noodled around on piano learning chords and scales and playing my own versions of tunes but this will be great for the next step to playing it true to form. Thanks dude, really helpful and completely and uttetly explanatory. No gaps in information at all.

Finally, I can wake wii music

Wow this is a dope tutorial. Was just looking at bossa nova songs randomly too. Also, I'm not that strong in music theory so I feel like I leveled up in some concepts

This video is pure gold. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.

7:42 mins in and I went straight into belting “Rikki don’t lose that number!” Lol great song

You are the second person I have ever seen that can play left hand sections all by themselves. Usually they put both hands up to the keys, even if the right hand isn't playing. Very well done.

This is such a quality video! Thank you for sharing it - I've learnt so much :)

Great explanation and amazing skills UNFORTUNATELY not for my beginner level... maybe next year, who knows... but thanks, Andrea from Roma - Italia.

This was amazing. I've been playing this song for years - but this helped me take it to a whole new level!!

What I love about this channel is that you are teaching without any other commercial interest at all.

Glad I stumbbled into this, I've been playing (started as a drummer) for 38 yrs? never broke down the bossa nova, always thought about as a switch you through on a apartment organ. this is a little more succinct. thanks friend

I love all your videos, one of my favourite music educators on youtube. Thanks for all your hard work

Excellent presentation, I now understand the rthym and composition much better--not that I'll be able to play effectively but u never know. THANKS Job Welldone.

I love bossa nova and I always wated to learn more about it. Thank you for sharing great lecture!!

Literally the best explanation so far i read online . Mucho gracias

I have no words for how good your teaching is.

Amazing video, will definitely come back to check out your other lessons!

Thank you for making that video. It was fun!

wow this is my first time watching your channel and i love the content! definitely subscribing

The best teacher. I LOVE YOU

THANK YOU! Your videos are a gold mine as always. You deserve more subs...

Brilliant deconstruction, and you then topped it off with a soulful jazzy execution. Top notch.

This tutorial is really great, i don't usually do that but like and share!

This is really helpful and easy to follow! Thanks man, I really appreciate it

Very Clear Explaination. Thanks!

Gracias, su canal es de los mejores q he visto, Dios lo bendiga.

With all due respect, the song that started it all is Jobim’s Chega de saudade, or, No More Blues. And the bossa jazz standard is Blue Bossa. On top of that, a song like How Insensatez is really based on F. Chopin. Bossa Nova can be easily expressed in rhythm with just a shaker!

Very good tutorial 🙏 ! It's really helpful !

Especially the film "Orfeu Negro" by Marcel Camus , award winner at Cannes in 1968, started the worldwide Bossa-craze.

11:06 potsu- just friends

One of the best teacher on RU-vid, thanks for these incredible well explained lessons

Thank you! It really helps!!! And you are very good. 😊

Very helpful, and a great introduction to Bossa Nova.

Thanks a lot ! Great video

so chill nice video as always love you

You are the best teacher currently on RU-vid!!!!!

Now that is a perfect lesson. This is a true documentation and a surgical excersize. (Praise the Lord !)

Quality information in this video!

This channel is amazing. Awesome work mate

Nice lesson !

4:20 and 10:36 very useful to me to learn these ! Thank you very much!

Thank you so much for these clear explanations♡♡♡

Thanks for an excellent lesson!!

Awesome lesson! Thanks for the lesson: not only are there few lessons on bossa nova piano available, but this one is great!

Wow, thanks so very much for this amazingly informative video. I absolutely love Latin music and learning to play it is a big goal for me and this really helps me out a lot! :)

Loveeeee this lesson. I been watching many lesson this lesson is my fav😸😸🙌

Muy buen tutorial!! Muchas gracias!

Great tutorial 👍

The best tutorial explaining bossa nova rythm. Both teory and practice, applied to the "Bossa Standard· Garota de ipanema. Congratulations man. I can't express how grateful I am for your generosity. Best regards maestyro

Excellent!!

7:35 Horace Silver - Song For My Father

love this tutorial

Great instructional video, ❤love it, very useful with great explanation, your Jazz Piano 🎹🎹Tutorials covers everything to play from Blues to Jazz. I will make sure to follow for latest content. 👍

wow....well explained and played !

I waited for this since afro-cuban video!

What a great vieeo! . I love your explanation. !

Great lesson! Thank you very much.

Great lesson. Thanks so much!

Thanks for your great vid!

Thank you for this video, very useful, I didn't know this, but now I do! 😊😇

Mate, great tutorial. Concise and easy to absorb.

Well explained!

Excellent lesson. thank you.

brilliant explanation!

Excellent,thank you.

Thank you,i was trying to ''create" a bossa nova song And i'd failed,what surprise But i think now i learn a bit more I'll try again :)

Really useful.. thanks! 😀

Very nice 👌

Very helpfull🙏✨

Fantastic, thanks very much !

Beautiful

Great explanation!

Thank you for this lesson.

Exactly what I was looking for

Great video! However could you possibly in the future make a detailed video about montunos and how to practice them? Cheers!

awesome

Thank you!

brilliant!

great tutorial thank you

great teacher mate thank you

Muchas Gracias !

Cool...very good explication. .

I realise that this is just a quick 'n' dirty tutorial for getting the basics of the bossa nova rhythm, but still, there are lots of fundamental aspects of samba and bossa nova that get lost when we stick to the surface level. One example is that, even though you stress the importance of syncopation in bossa, it's not just any syncopation. In almost every samba you hear, you'll hear a stress that's put in the "One uh and *A* , Two uh and *A* | One uh and *A* , Two uh and *A* ". There's no such thing as samba (and, by extension, bossa nova) without that 16th note stress. You can hear that, for example, in the melody of the classic Canto de Ossanha. Also, in order to truly grasp the way those rhythmic patterns work, you'd have to understand the way they're playing the role of traditional percussion instruments, which, though they don't follow a clave, are tightly tied together in complex rhythmic tapestries; but not just that, but some notes are slightly delayed while others are slightly rushed in relation to the "grid", in very subtle ways, but that almost any ordinary Brazilian person is able to play on a matchbox. The brilliancy of musicians like João Gilberto resides (among other things) in how he can deconstruct those rhythmic patterns into their most basic elements and reproduce them on the guitar, and execute sophisticated tricks that your mind might not even notice; sometimes, in the middle of a song, he would *only* play guitar chords on the "A" 16th notes, but you're fooled into thinking he's playing the other notes as well, because you're still hearing them in your head. Crazy, absolutely crazy. All of this might be too complicated and deep for someone who's just getting initiated, but, really, it's the absence of details like those that'll make your music sound like "samba de gringo", i.e. foreigner's samba. You have to study partido alto, samba de roda, and other related styles, in order to get that sound right... and listen to some really great music while you're at it. :)

Hi Mr. "WALK THAT BASS" Thanks a lot for this tutorial BOSSA NOVA so beautifully and understandable explained. Difficult to add more, which words could express. Thanks again for your Inspiration, Now pracictice time. Wish you the Best. GREETINGS from SPAIN.

My fav Latin tune to play on guitar is "Canto de Ossanha"....great content btw!

Good explanation mister.. hello to you since Yucatán, I am a jazz lover and musician too that wants to learn how to play it and this video riches myself to do it.. thank you.. I Will práctice it.. here we traditionally listen to cumbia music and a mexican cumbia group plays some Jazz in some parts of it.. thats why I learn it, to use it into mine.. hello to you God bless you and thanks so much