Brazilian Grooves Course

This course is dedicated to the music and the grooves of Brazil.

Taught by three-time Latin Grammy nominee – Jovino Santos Neto – master pianist, composer, arranger, and one of the top Brazilian musicians working today.

Bossa Nova & Samba Jazz

One of the main styles of Brazilian music is Bossa Nova. Bossa Nova can be defined as a musical style where the vocal element is very subtle. This contrasts with the ‘big projecting vibrato voice’ of other musical styles.

There is a more instrumental style of Bossa Nova music which is known as "Samba Jazz". This genre covers the same tunes as Bossa Nova, but the music is played with more energy and at faster tempos of around 100pm.

In this course, we will explore and demonstrate the key differences between these 2 styles of Brazilian music.

Antonio Carlos Jobim

Widely considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian music; Antônio Carlos Jobim was a Brazilian composer, pianist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Jobim left hundreds of beautiful compositions and in this course we will explore 3 of Jobim’s most famous works:

• Corcovado
• The Girl From Ipanema
• Wave

Some of Jobim’s compositions were the most recorded tunes in the world, and this course will pay homage to the brilliant harmonies and melodies of this master composer.

João Gilberto

João Gilberto is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Whilst Gilberto was not a composer, his guitar comping styles set the history for what became the Bossa Nova comping style. His softly whispered vocals later became synonymous with the Bossa Nova style.

Bossa Nova is a style of vocal music that benefits from the microphone. The singer can get very close to the microphone and ‘whisper’ the melodies. This was the style that João Gilberto premiered, and has since been taken on by many other musicians.

The Structure Of Brazilian Music

When playing the music of Brazil you should know about its structure:

• The Rhythmic Structure
• The Harmonic Structure
• The Melodic Structure

Throughout this course, we will explore and examine the essential ingredients of the Brazilian groove.