6.2.09

Cavaquinho chords

While we're in the DIY mode for Brazilian music, here's a collection of cavaco chords I put together a few years ago. Please let me know if you can improve/add to this list. Following the chords are some notes on how to use these.

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cavaquinho chords
tuning: dgbd


MAJOR


"C" shape "A" shape "E" shape

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C 2 0 1 2 5 5 5 5 10 9 8 10

C# 3 1 2 3 6 6 6 6 11 10 9 11

D 4 2 3 4 7 7 7 7 12 11 10 12

D# 5 3 4 5 8 8 8 8 13 12 11 13

E 6 4 5 6 9 9 9 9 2 1 0 2

F 7 5 6 7 10 10 10 10 3 2 1 3

F# 8 6 7 8 11 11 11 11 4 3 2 4

G 9 7 8 9 0 0 0 0 5 4 3 5

G# 10 8 9 10 1 1 1 1 6 5 4 6

A 11 9 10 11 2 2 2 2 7 6 5 7

A# 12 10 11 12 3 3 3 3 8 7 6 8

B 12111213 4 4 4 4 9 8 7 9



MINOR

"Cm" shape "Am" shape "Em" shape

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Cm 1 0 1 1 5 5 4 5 10 8 810

C#m 2 1 2 2 6 6 5 6 11 9 911

Dm 3 2 3 3 7 7 6 7 12101012

D#m 4 3 4 4 8 8 7 8 13111113

Em 5 4 5 5 9 9 8 9 2 0 0 2

Fm 6 5 6 6 1010 910 3 1 1 3

F#m 7 6 7 7 11111011 4 2 2 4

Gm 8 7 8 8 12121112 5 3 3 5

G#m 9 8 9 9 1 1 0 1 6 4 4 6

Am 10 91010 2 2 1 2 7 5 5 7

A#m 11101111 3 3 2 3 8 6 6 8

Bm 12111212 4 4 3 4 9 7 7 9



6th

"F6" shape "A6" shape "D6" shape

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C6 10 9 8 7 5 5 5 7 14 91110

C#6 1110 9 8 6 6 6 8 15101211

D6 121110 9 7 7 7 9 4 2 0 0

D#6 13121110 8 8 810 5 3 1 1

E6 14131211 9 9 911 6 4 2 2

F6 3 2 1 0 10101012 7 5 3 3

F#6 4 3 2 1 11111113 8 5 4 4

G6 5 4 3 2 0 0 0 2 9 4 6 5

G#6 6 5 4 3 1 1 1 3 10 5 7 6

A6 7 6 5 4 2 2 2 4 11 6 8 7

A#6 8 7 6 5 3 3 3 5 12 7 9 8

B6 9 8 7 6 4 4 4 6 13 810 9



7th

"F7" shape "A7" shape "E7" shape "C7" shape "G7" shape "C#7" shape

------------------------------------------------------------------------

C7 8 9 810 5 3 5 5 10 91110 2 3 1 2 8 5 5 8 14121114

C#7 910 911 6 4 6 6 11101211 3 4 2 3 9 6 6 9 3 1 0 3

D7 10111012 7 5 7 7 12111312 4 5 3 4 10 7 710 4 2 1 4

D#7 11121113 8 6 8 8 1 0 2 1 5 6 4 5 11 8 811 5 3 2 5

E7 0 1 0 2 9 7 9 9 2 1 3 2 6 7 5 6 12 9 912 6 4 3 6

F7 1 2 1 3 10 81010 3 2 4 3 7 8 6 7 13101013 7 5 4 7

F#7 2 3 2 4 11 91111 4 3 5 4 8 9 7 8 14111114 8 6 5 8

G7 3 4 3 5 12101212 5 4 6 5 910 8 9 3 0 0 3 9 7 6 9

G#7 4 5 4 6 13111313 6 5 7 6 1011 910 4 1 1 4 10 8 710

A7 5 6 5 7 2 0 2 2 7 6 8 7 11121011 5 2 2 5 11 9 811

A#7 6 7 6 8 3 1 3 3 8 7 9 8 12131112 6 3 3 6 1210 912

B7 7 8 7 9 4 2 4 4 9 810 9 1 2 0 1 7 4 4 7 13111013



Major 7th

"G7M" shape "A7M" shape "E7M" shape "C7M" shape "D7M" shape

-------------------------------------------------------------------

C7M 5 5 5 9 5 4 5 5 10 9 8 9 2 0 0 2 10121214

C#7M 6 6 610 6 5 6 6 1110 910 3 1 1 3 11131315

D7M 7 7 711 7 6 7 7 12111011 4 2 2 4 0 2 2 4

D#7M 8 8 812 8 7 8 8 13121112 5 3 3 5 1 3 3 5

E7M 9 9 913 9 8 9 9 2 1 0 1 6 4 4 6 2 4 4 6

F7M 10101014 10 91010 3 2 1 2 7 5 5 7 3 5 5 7

F#7M 11111115 11101111 4 3 2 3 8 6 6 8 4 6 6 8

G7M 0 0 0 4 12111212 5 4 3 4 9 7 7 9 5 7 7 9

G#7M 1 1 1 5 1 0 1 1 6 5 4 5 10 8 810 6 8 810

A7M 2 2 2 6 2 1 2 2 7 6 5 6 11 9 911 7 9 911

A#7M 3 3 3 7 3 2 3 3 8 7 6 7 12101012 8101012

B7M 4 4 4 8 4 3 4 4 9 8 7 8 13111113 9111113



minor 6th

"Fm6" shape "Dm6" shape "D#m6" shape

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Cm6 7 8 810 10121013 13121010

C#m6 8 9 911 11131114 14131111

Dm6 9101012 0 2 0 3 3 2 0 0

D#m6 10111113 1 3 1 4 4 3 1 1

Em6 11121214 2 4 2 5 5 4 2 2

Fm6 0 1 1 3 3 5 3 6 6 5 3 3

F#m6 1 2 2 4 4 6 4 7 7 6 4 4

Gm6 2 3 3 5 5 7 5 8 8 7 5 5

G#m6 3 4 4 6 6 8 6 9 9 8 6 6

Am6 4 5 5 7 7 9 710 10 9 7 7

A#m6 5 6 6 8 810 811 1110 8 8

Bm6 6 7 7 9 911 912 1211 9 9



minor 7th

"Fm7" shape "Am7" shape "Em7" shape "Cm7" shape

----------------------------------------------------

Cm7 10 8 810 5 3 4 5 10 8 8 8 1 0 1 1

C#m7 11 9 911 6 4 5 6 11 9 9 9 2 1 2 2

Dm7 12101012 7 5 6 7 12101010 10 8 8 3

D#m7 13111113 8 6 7 8 13111111 10 8 8 4

Em7 2 0 0 2 9 7 8 9 2 0 0 0 10 8 8 5

Fm7 3 1 1 3 10 8 910 3 1 1 1 10 8 8 6

F#m7 4 2 2 4 11 91011 4 2 2 2 10 8 8 7

Gm7 5 3 3 5 12101112 5 3 3 3 10 8 8 8

G#m7 6 4 4 6 13111213 6 4 4 4 10 8 8 9

Am7 7 5 5 7 2 0 1 2 7 5 5 5 10 91010

A#m7 8 6 6 8 3 1 2 3 8 6 6 6 11101111

Bm7 9 7 7 9 4 2 3 4 9 7 7 7 12111212



sus 2nd

"Asus2"shape

---------------

Csus2 5 5 3 5

C#sus2 6 6 4 6

Dsus2 7 7 5 7

D#sus2 8 8 6 8

Esus2 9 9 7 9

Fsus2 1010 810

F#sus2 1111 911

Gsus2 12121012

G#sus2 13131113

Asus2 2 2 0 2

A#sus2 3 3 1 3

Bsus2 4 4 2 4



sus 4th

"Fsus4" "Gsus4" shape shape

------------------------

Csus4 810 810 5 5 6 5

C#sus4 911 911 6 6 7 6

Dsus4 10121012 7 7 8 7

D#sus4 11131113 8 8 9 8

Esus4 0 2 0 2 9 910 9

Fsus4 1 3 1 3 10101110

F#sus4 2 4 2 4 11111211

Gsus4 3 5 3 5 0 0 1 0

G#sus4 4 6 4 6 1 1 2 1

Asus4 5 7 5 7 2 2 3 2

A#sus4 6 8 6 8 3 3 4 3

Bsus4 7 9 7 9 4 4 5 4



diminished

"Fº" shape "Dº" shape "Dº" shape #2 "C#º" shape "Bº" shape

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Cº 10 8 7 7 10111013 13111010 4 5 4 7 1 2 1 4

C#º 11 9 8 8 11121114 14121111 5 6 5 8 2 3 2 5

Dº 1210 9 9 0 1 0 3 3 1 0 0 6 7 6 9 3 4 3 6

D#º 13111010 1 2 1 4 4 2 1 1 7 8 710 4 5 4 7

Eº 14121111 2 3 2 5 5 3 2 2 8 9 811 5 6 5 8

Fº 3 1 0 0 3 4 3 6 6 4 3 3 910 912 6 7 6 9

F#º 4 2 1 1 4 5 4 7 7 5 4 4 10111013 7 8 710

Gº 5 3 2 2 5 6 5 8 8 6 5 5 11121114 8 9 811

G#º 6 4 3 3 6 7 6 9 9 7 6 6 0 1 0 5 910 912

Aº 7 5 4 4 7 8 710 10 8 7 7 1 2 1 4 10111013

A#º 8 6 5 5 8 9 811 11 9 8 8 2 3 2 5 11121114

Bº 9 7 6 6 910 912 1210 9 9 3 4 3 6 0 1 0 3



augmented

"F aug" shape "G aug" shape "E aug" shape

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C aug 2 1 1 2 6 5 5 6 10 9 910

C# aug 3 2 2 3 7 6 6 7 11101011

D aug 4 3 3 4 8 7 7 8 12111112

D# aug 5 4 4 5 9 8 8 9 1 0 0 1

E aug 6 5 5 6 10 9 910 2 1 1 2

F aug 7 6 6 7 11101011 3 2 2 3

F# aug 8 7 7 8 12111112 4 3 3 4

G aug 9 8 8 9 1 0 0 1 5 4 4 5

G# aug 10 9 910 2 1 1 2 6 5 5 6

A aug 11101011 3 2 2 3 7 6 6 7

A# aug 12111112 4 3 3 4 8 7 7 8

B aug 1 0 0 1 5 4 4 5 9 8 8 9



Add 9

"E9" shape "A#9" shape "C9" shape "B9" shape

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C9 10 91112 2 3 3 5 2 0 1 0 4 4 2 1

C#9 11101213 3 4 4 6 3 1 2 1 5 5 3 2

D9 12111314 4 5 5 7 4 2 3 2 6 6 4 3

D#9 1 0 2 3 5 6 6 8 5 3 4 3 7 7 5 4

E9 2 1 3 4 6 7 7 9 6 4 5 4 8 8 6 5

F9 3 2 4 5 7 8 810 7 5 6 5 9 9 7 6

F#9 4 3 5 6 8 9 911 8 6 7 6 1010 8 7

G9 5 4 6 7 9101012 9 7 8 7 1111 9 8

G#9 6 5 7 8 10111113 10 8 9 8 121210 9

A9 7 6 8 9 11121214 11 910 9 1313 310

A#9 8 7 910 0 1 1 3 12101110 1414 311

B9 9 81011 1 2 2 4 13111211 3 3 1 0







Add flat 9

"E(-9)"

---------

C(-9) 10 9 811

C#(-9) 1110 912

D(-9) 12111013

D#(-9) 13121114

E(-9) 2 1 0 3

F(-9) 3 2 1 4

F#(-9) 4 3 2 5

G(-9) 5 4 3 6

G#(-9) 6 5 4 7

A(-9) 7 6 5 8

A#(-9) 8 7 6 9

B(-9) 9 8 710





minor add 9

"Cm9" shape "Em9" shape "Bm9" shape

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Cm9 1 0 1 0 10 8 812 1 5 3 5

C#m9 2 1 2 1 11 9 913 2 6 4 6

Dm9 3 2 3 2 12101014 3 7 5 7

D#m9 4 3 4 3 13111115 4 8 6 8

Em9 5 4 5 4 2 0 0 4 5 9 7 9

Fm9 6 5 6 5 3 1 1 5 610 810

F#m9 7 6 7 6 4 2 2 6 711 911

Gm9 8 7 8 7 5 3 3 7 8121012

G#m9 9 8 9 8 6 4 4 8 9131113

Am9 10 910 9 7 5 5 9 10141214

A#m9 11101110 8 6 610 11151315

Bm9 12111211 9 7 711 0 4 2 4

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how does this work?
1. First, let's get in tune. Use a chromatic tuner or some other means to tune your 1st and 4th cavaquinho strings to 'd', your second string to b, and your third string to 'g'. Thus, your tuning resembles the first 4 strings of a guitar except that the highest string is a d instead of an 'e'. (But a higher octave, of course!)


2. Next, undersand that this page shows chords in groups: major, minor, and so on. Each row down is a half-step higher, and each column is a different shape. The same shape is used to create different chords by moving your fingers up or down the neck. It's up to you to figure out which shape is easy to play and sounds right in the context you are using it.


3. Also understand that the notation shows frets to be pressed from the 4th string (lowest tone) to 1st string (highest tone). Example major C chords are illustrated below:


MAJOR


"C" shape "A" shape "E" shape

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C 2 0 1 2 5 5 5 5 10 9 810



C Major inC Shape:

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O O 1 O first fret

2 O O 3

O O O O third fret

O O O O









C Major inA Shape:

-------

O O O O first fret

O O O O

O O O O third fret

O O O O

1 1 1 1 fifth fret

O O O O









C Major inE Shape:

-------

O O O O first fret

O O O O

O O O O third fret

O O O O

O O O O fifth fret

O O O O

O O O O seventh fret

O O 1 O

O 2 O O ninth fret

3 O O 4

O O O O eleventh fret









Note that in these

pictograms (but not in the previous chord listings), a O indicates that

the fret is not played, while a

1 indicates the index finger,

2 indicates the middle finger,

3 indicates the ring finger,

4 indicates the pinky.







4. Remember that, for any given fingering,

more than one name may apply to the chord.

For example, Cm6 is equivalent to F7(9) -- or so I am told!

Consult any book on harmonic theory to learn more.

3 comments:

southpawGTR said...

Thank you for the chords! I'm just learning how to play and have been frustrated by the lack of resources available. I can't find any comprehensive books etc. on Cavaquinho so thanks for this blog. It makes perfect sense and is easy to apply. Do you know of any resources for scales? Would love it if you could do another blog with scales :)

Unknown said...

I'm also just learning to play and wondering if you know of any sites that demonstrate rhythms. obrigado, Richard

Unknown said...

Obrigada. I am an ukulele player and another Brazilophile. I just grabbed my friend's cavaquinho and was listening to some pagode songs and looking to see if I could find the chords and here your post was.

If you like pagode, a friend from California Brazil Camp posted some material to learn some songs at http://musicishealing.com/Bateria/Pagode/index.htm