Easy bossa tunes
i´m going to do a bossa/samba project at the school where i work. these kids are more or less beginners, so the tunes have to be very easy. looking in my real books i find that most bossa tunes would be too difficult for them, so now i need suggestions. what bossa/samba tunes do you like to use for beginners?
/savage
/savage
There are 35 comments, leave a comment.
blue bossa!
another vote for blue bossa!
blue bossa is not easy for beginners if you use a chart that has the accurate syncopations, the melody is mostly off the beat. however, the old real book arrangement is un-syncopated (it's on the beat which is how i recommend it for beginners.
easy bossa novas:
"equinox" very easy
"sunny"
"softly as in a morning sunrise"
mahna de carnival ("black orpheus")
"the days of wine and roses"
"night and day"
easy bossa novas:
"equinox" very easy
"sunny"
"softly as in a morning sunrise"
mahna de carnival ("black orpheus")
"the days of wine and roses"
"night and day"
all jazz would be a lot easier to learn correctly, with syncopations, if it were learned more by ear and less by trying to read notation.
hey - we agree ! that's how i teach jazz to beginners. to me it's more important that they begin by sounding good and hopefully stimulating exporation, rather than to be discouraged by having to learn the written language first. i find it's much easier to fill in the gaps after they have a working relationship with the auditory part of the language first, or when they have questions that are relevant to what they are playing. (we learn to speak befor we learn to read)
i also find syncopation is much easier to teach by ear or with phonetics
just my two cents...please don bash me, i'm having a hard time, if you disagree, i would appreciate you doing it in a non-insulting way - thanks :)
i also find syncopation is much easier to teach by ear or with phonetics
just my two cents...please don bash me, i'm having a hard time, if you disagree, i would appreciate you doing it in a non-insulting way - thanks :)
wow - that sounds pathetic - heh heh - just thought i'd try a more passive approach - bash away :)
'little sunflower' is one of the easiest - d dorian forever with a two chord bridge.
ps dr. whack, you're a moron! ;-)
sorry, couldn't resist!
sorry, couldn't resist!
maiden voyage or impressions
groovin high
-just kidding:)
-just kidding:)
maybe it would good idea for the students to learn some the brazilian percussion patterns. even if you do not have all the instruments, they could at least sing and tap/clap out the rhythms. also the class could do lots of listening and learn about cultural aspects of the music.
thank you, these are all great suggestions. however, i should have been more specific in my question.
i´m looking for easy brazilian tunes with few chords and a melody that´s easy to sing, something like "so danco samba". any suggestions? thanks.
i´m looking for easy brazilian tunes with few chords and a melody that´s easy to sing, something like "so danco samba". any suggestions? thanks.
samba de orfeu (luiz bonfa)
see room "latin corner": some tips in "learning bossanova", and 2 easy tunes: "tristeza", "agua de beber". "tico tico samba"
an easy bossa is "o barquinho" (the little boat) (menoscal & boscoli)
some sugestions, no very easy but very nice bossas:
meditation (jobim
one note samba (jobim)
corcovado (jobim)
wave (jobim)
desafinado ( out of tune) (jobim)
the girl from ipanema (jobim)
good brasilian sambas and bossas in:
https://www.ethosbrasil.com/nav/partit.htm
an easy bossa is "o barquinho" (the little boat) (menoscal & boscoli)
some sugestions, no very easy but very nice bossas:
meditation (jobim
one note samba (jobim)
corcovado (jobim)
wave (jobim)
desafinado ( out of tune) (jobim)
the girl from ipanema (jobim)
good brasilian sambas and bossas in:
https://www.ethosbrasil.com/nav/partit.htm
easy =
"mr. p.c." played as a bossa
"mr. p.c." played as a bossa
would be a good one to sing, not too hard.
ok thanks for the suggestions, i´ll try these tunes on the kids and see if it works...
try "london bridge is falling down" as a bossa
good point - a lot of simple tunes would work (merry had a little lamb, twinkle twinkle, etc...)
well of course that should be "mary" i must have been thinking of "merrily we roll along" :)
can anyone point to any midi or audio files of easy solo piano bossas ?
please go go google.com and write:"bossa mp3 free"
sorry!:
please go to google.com and search for "bossa mp3 free"
please go to google.com and search for "bossa mp3 free"
actually an easy samba is one note samba. but i coulda sworn there was an extra note or two in the brigde......o_o
yeah, that one should probably be called "two scale samba"
blue bossa is a great tune. you just have to advise the students on which scales are best for each chord type. also make sure they have ear training/interval training. one must be able sing what they play
girl from epanema...:d and would please somebody tell me how to do spain???
you mean chick corea's "spain"?
there is sheet music out there for this tune that is pretty accurate.
once you've read through that and got it pretty much under your fingers, get ahold of a few different versions of the tune (eg. al jarreau & return to forever) and have a good hard listen.
then decide how you want to arrange your version.
there is sheet music out there for this tune that is pretty accurate.
once you've read through that and got it pretty much under your fingers, get ahold of a few different versions of the tune (eg. al jarreau & return to forever) and have a good hard listen.
then decide how you want to arrange your version.
play 'the girl from ipanema' until you are blue in the face. then you will have the basic bossa nova beat intrenched in your head.
actually any jobim song will do.
actually any jobim song will do.
i vote for "girl from ipanema," or "song for my father," or "how insensitive."
as tempting a choice it may be, "one note samba" doesn't quite seem like it would be as easy as it sounds -- i could picture kids getting confused with the rhythm -- since that's what the tune is -- especially playing tutti or whatever.
aren't "nutville" and "un poco loco" based on samba rhythms? those are pretty easy tunes at uptempo, right?
as tempting a choice it may be, "one note samba" doesn't quite seem like it would be as easy as it sounds -- i could picture kids getting confused with the rhythm -- since that's what the tune is -- especially playing tutti or whatever.
aren't "nutville" and "un poco loco" based on samba rhythms? those are pretty easy tunes at uptempo, right?
i think jobim was listening to chopin when he wrote "how insensitive."
why not write your own tune? that way you can also learn about harmony, rhythm and composition, which are essential for an improvising jazz musician. much of what i know about playing jazz came from internalising new ideas by building new tunes around them. it doesn't work for everyone, but for me writing new stuff is inseparable from continued development of jazz understanding. the tunes don't have to be instant standards performable in public - they can be artisitically negligible but still useful study aids, for practice behind closed doors. i've also done this in the past for beginners' workshops and it seems to be effective.
sid
sid
in fact, to show what i mean, i've uploaded a mid file and pdf copy of a bossa i wrote a while ago for a workshop. go to the misc lessons room and list files. it's called "strange sins". let me know if anyone finds it useful.
sid
sid
i have always found all bossa heads relatively easy compared to jazz heads. but when you try to play them in a true bossa style and make them sound like truly like bossa's that is when they become difficult.
especially if you are a lame ass honkey from america like me.
Please sign in to post.
Jazz Piano Notebook Series
Volume 1 of this educational jazz piano book contains 15 jazz piano exercises, tricks, and other interesting jazz piano techniques, voicings, grooves, and ideas Scot Ranney enjoys playing.
"Latinesque"
Volume 2 has 14 jazz piano exercises and tricks of the trade, and quite a bit of it is Calypso jazz piano related material, including some Monty Alexander and Michel Camilo style grooves. Jazz piano education is through the ears, but books like this can help.
Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist Tim Richards.
Tim wrote the well known "Exploring Jazz Piano" and "Improvising Blues Piano" books and has several others to his name.
Volume 4 is by Jeff Brent, a jazz pianist, composer, teacher, and author of "Modalogy" and other acclaimed jazz theory and education books. In this book Jeff shares detailed analysis of transcriptions of live performances. He covers everything from the shape of the songs to the tricks and licks he uses in improvised lines to the ideas behind his lush chord voicings.
Most Recent Discussions
Articles
Piano for Adoption Scam
Aprender Jazz en Piano
BEWARE: FREE BABY GRAND PIANO SCAM
Oh Tannenbaum for Jazz Piano
Volume 5 of the "Jazz Piano Notebook Series" is Available!
LearnJazzPiano.com File Downloads News
more...
Top Sheetmusic Picks
Jazzy Christmas Arrangements
Cocktail Piano
Best Songs Ever, 6th Edition
Christmas Medley
Moana Songbook
Late Night Jazz Piano
Jazz piano education is cool.
Rock on. Follow your passion.
Sign In
privacy policy •
terms of service •
about
•
50,655 messages
63,069 accounts
57,161 logins
LearnJazzPiano.com Copyright © 1995-2023 by Scot Ranney • website software and design by scot's scripts
LearnJazzPiano.com is For Sale - Serious Inquiries Only
LearnJazzPiano.com Copyright © 1995-2023 by Scot Ranney • website software and design by scot's scripts
LearnJazzPiano.com is For Sale - Serious Inquiries Only