Insensatez (How Insensitive) - Bossa Nova Guitar Lesson #1: Basic Phrase 

Thank you, I'm really pleased to hear that. Thanks for your input.

@@bossanovaguitar , no garbage, no wisecracks, no obnoxiousness. Pulls you in and make you LISTEN!!!

Agreed. This is perfection.

Do you have a suggestion for which which song to start with for another complete beginner?

@@hayden74474 I would say the first two are fine to start, they don't have too insane chord changes and have basic rhythms. Don't set your expectation high though, might takes forever to play them fluently. 'S Wonderful (which is not listed in the playlist) is also basic. After that maybe just search for your favorite song and see.

@@rpoc1231Will do, thank you!

Thank you very much for such a nice comment.

Thank you very much. It's really encouraging to have such a great number of subscribers and likes coming form Brazil.

That's the right tune, Jobim used to play in Bm

Another Brazilian here - son of a Bossa Nova enthusiast. I grew up listening to my dad playing these songs, this exact way, never having studied any music formally or being able to read it. Thank you very much for preserving these techniques and making them accessible this way.

You're welcome! Thanks for your post!

I'm glad it helped you. Stay tuned for more. Thanks!

You're very welcome! Glad you like it!

Hi there! Thanks for your post. I checked some of your videos, you have beautiful and powerful voice and quite impressive performance. Please check my bossanovaguitar.com website for additional info and let me know if you need further assistance. Hırvatistan'dan merhaba!

That's very kind of you. Thank you very much!

I'm glad you are. Thanks!

That's very kind, thank you!

Thanks!

Glad you like it! Thanks a lot!

Je vous en prie

Glad you liked it! Thanks!

Glad you enjoy it! Thank you very much!

Glad to hear that! Thanks a lot!

Пожалуйста!

You're welcome, and thanks for your input.

Thank you for your input!

Nothing to be scared from. A bit of a theory is explained on bossanovaguitar.com site. Thanks!

You're welcome. Thank you for your comment.

Thank you very much!

The chords were transcribed from the first recording of Insensatez by Joao Gilberto. Jobim was also involved in that recording so it's impossible to know how much any of them contributed, though it is known that they occasionally had quarrels about the chords. Jobim was inspired by Chopin's prelude in E-minor for this song. Thanks for your input.

@@bossanovaguitar I love how Insensatez, the Chopin prelude op. 28 (and Radiohead's Exit Music) are equally beautiful renditions of the same musical idea. Thank you for the treasure trove you share with us, this is immensely helpful!

Thank you for your comment, as always! Cheers!

I believe it was Winston Churchill who said that all the great things are simple... Thanks for your comment.

Thank you very much. New lessons are on their way...

De nada!

Thank you for your post. I guess l could do some covers after rhythm lessons are finished.

Muchas gracias!

You're right. That was a typo. Fixed now. Thanks for pointing this out.

Thank you too!

Thank you very much!

You're welcome! Thanks for your post.

Muito obrigado!

Merci!

I'm glad you do. Thank you very much!

You're welcome. Thanks for your post.

There will be more. Stay tuned Thanks for your comment.

You're welcome!

You're welcome! Glad it helped! Thank you for your post!

I will be glad to see your version. I am trying to play it too :))

Glad you like it! Thanks!

Thanks for pointing this out. I've updated the description with this correction.

You're welcome. Thanks for your post.

Grazie mille!

Thank you! All chords can be found on bossanovaguitar.com site.

Thank you very much!

De nada. Muchas gracias tambien por su respuesta.

You're welcome Thanks for your post.

And possibly for years... :) Thank you very much for the comment!

Wtf?

Many thanks!

You're welcome. Thank you for your comment.

Chord charts are freely available at bossanovaguitar.com. You may donate if you wish :) Thank you for your post!

Muchas gracias!

Yairi CY140 model, cedar top, jacaranda back/sides, Ramirez style bracing, carbon strings. Thanks for your input.

+Andrew Kay - Thank you for the nice comment. Avarandado transcription from "White Album" is now available on bossanovaguitar.com. Please note that João's guitar was tuned to 415 Hz on this one, that is one semitone below standard pitch. João didn't use any bossa nova phrase here but a simple arpeggio. Note that in Buenos Aires concert with Caetano João played the same song using a mixture of basic syncopated phrase (1313 as in Só Danço Samba lesson) and fully syncopated phrase (3333) that is usually used in song transitions and openings (such as in Samba da Minha Terra lesson).

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much. The tonality is B minor, so D is it's relative major key. However D7 also isn't a part of B minor diatonic harmonized scale, as it contain C, while B minor have C#. The answer to that is in chromaticism. Many chromatic elements are contained in bossa nova songs, like chromatic passages, altered chords etc. For example there are 3 instances of 'chromatic fourth' (passus duriusculus) in melody here - the passage often associated with sorrow, Jobim obviously thought that it could fit well to the sad mood of this song. Thanks for pointing this out.

Ah, that figure was used by Joao Gilberto in his first recording of Insensatez as explained in the description. It's just the same chord as from the beginning of the rhythmic phrase (Bm7) but broken down to one note at a time (this is called arpeggio). I performed it using rest stroke on first two notes, though I'm not sure Joao did the same.

You're welcome!

Obrigado!

Thank you very much!

amm, no, esta pisando el 5to traste... esta haciendo A13/-9 = 6X567X

You're right. I have no idea how did this pass through as in all my files I have written E7/G#. I fixed it with annotation. Thank you for pointing this out.

Of course, and Chovendo na Roseira is made of two waltzes by Debussy. Jobim never tried to hide this relationship with other musical influences. Did you know that the beginning of Desafinado was modeled on a song 'Violao Amigo' by Bide/Marçal? Thanks for your input.

@@bossanovaguitar so rich, this musical world!

Thanks!

Please check tutorial pages on bossanovaguitar.com

Muito obrigado!

Just an arbitrary selection of numbers. I started the numbering scheme from most used patterns. It could be easily transferred to binary notation with the usage of hex numbers, but I though that might get confusing for many people (for example 1212 could be described as ACAC or binary 1010 1100 1010 1100). I even suggested on my website that anyone can choose the numbering that best suits them. Thanks for pointing this out.

Thanks!

Usual recommendation is to try to form the shape of the chord with the fingers of your left hand while they are still in the air. In situations when the chord is syncopated (played before the bass) you can also fret it in sequence (first the chord, then the bass): However this is not the case here and the song is played with legato which makes it tricky. Keep practicing. Thanks for your input.

Doralice is planned. Thanks for your input.

I use medium tension carbon trebles, but the choice depends on the guitar you have.With brighter sounded guitar I would use nylon. I generally avoid high tension, but that is the matter of personal preference. Also if you have lover action you might need higher tension strings to avoid the fret buzz. Hope that helps and good luck.

@@bossanovaguitar Thank you for your reply. I bought a1976 Alvarez Yairi CY-125 last week. The action is a little high. I strung it with D'Addario Pro-Arte EJ45 normal tension strings. Sounds pretty good. The trebles are still stretching. I may try some different strings later, but I will get a setup before trying high tension. I am excited to start my journey in bossa nova. I will be using your great videos.

Good point.This is obviously a long standing typo, wonder how nobody noticed it before. Correct naming for that chord is E7/G#, as it is showed on bossanovaguitar.com site. Sorry for that and thank you for pointing it out.

This is a rootless A chord. Bb is b9 relative to the root (A).It contains also major 3rd (C#), major 6th (F#) and minor 7th (G), Thanks for your input.

Acho que entendi! É um A/13(b9) sem a fundamental (A), e com o Bb no baixo que seria o b9. É isso? E pode isso, ter no baixo uma nota que não é nem terça, nem quinta nem sétima? Aprendi que não. :/ Obrigado.

That's correct. When just a guitar is played I see no reason why would any interval be forbidden in bass voice. In case a bass instrument is added then this might become an issue. The naming of this chord is also controversial, some call it Eb7/+9/Bb, others Bbm6/+5 and I've also seen Bbdim/+5. When I'm not certain about the root I always check for 2 things: - does the melody fit into a chord - in this case the melody is F# E F# E etc. (F# is included in the chord and E is a 5th) - try to play simple major (or minor) chord on top of selected root and see if it loosely fits to the melody - here only A major fits, both Bb and Eb sound terrible Thank you for your post.

Or you could call it a Bb dim 7 (b13) that's what I call those chords :) Great site by the way.