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Villa-Lobos&Brazilian Rhythmsby Tiberio Nascimento

This month we welcome to ourpages the returnof the Brazilian Tiberio Nascimento. Tiberio'sfirst article (on Bossa nova, Sept '85) createdmuch interest and a clamourfor more articles.Like most busy professionals Tiberio would

rather play than write and i t has taken us a longtime to pin him down. UK audiencesmay havethe opportunity to hear this stunningguitaristfor Tiberio hopes to visit the UK in the comingspring.

Ex.l~ - - '1-" ~ - f - C'-f. ;;,Baiao melodies are almost always not syncopated. Practiseplaying halfnotes then quarter notes on top of the syncopatedbass.

~ ~ d J \ d J '.- gr. r,- \ T r-T> >t i ~ J 1 .\ \ I \i ,, , ,i$ I IT' t-r T' t- f> >The quarter notes should be played evenly, but after you arecomfortable with the pattern, place slight emphasis on thesecond and fourth beats. Now try eighth notes.

E I C . ~ \ m i 0.."'" Q. "" tl W'\ I "-"'"'\ .. '" Cl." -, . \ rn p, r . ;); , I . \ I I I :\1I I? I..,. ,... ~ r t ~ rlJ \> >

Practice playing half, quarter and eighth notes on top of theXaxado bass.Here are some other articulations:

The right hand fingering I have indicated allows for anemphasis on the beats where the "a" finger plays. This is thefigure played by the triangle in a percussion ensemble.A rhythm closely related to the Baiao is the Xaxado. One ofits characteristics is a variation of the bass:Like most Brazilians, Villa-Lobos was proud of his homeland.In all of his music he has incorporated some aspect of theBrazilian culture he loved so much. With his experience aspart of the choroes (popular music ensembles that performedonthe streets of Rio), and his travels throughout Brazil, heintegrated within his musical personality the many folkmelodies and the rich variety of rhythms in Brazilian music. Itis these rhythms - a blend of native Indian, European andprimarily African influences - that I wish to discuss inrelation to Villa-Lobos' guitar music.In the guitar works (especially the Etudes), Villa-Lobos hasgiven us many samples of these rhythms. Often they arehidden in the web of his abundant creative imagination, andsometimes they form the basic thematic material from whichhe derives inspiration. By better understanding the rhythms ofBrazil (and how they are played on the guitar), we can acquirenew insights into interpreting Villa-Lobos' music.Let us start by playing the basic rhythm from the northeastregion ofBrazil, the Baiao. The bass figure is most important:

=r-f r>

-~ - r r

'\1

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Ex. 7demonstrates the use of the slur as an essential pan of therhythmic pattern. This aniculation is typical of the violacaipira, or "hillbilly" guitar from nonheast Brazil.Now let us lookat Etude no. 11 by Villa-Lobos. Here the

Baiao appears undisguised. The imponant syncopated bass isused notas accompaniment, but as the melodyin thirds.

G\\ r l Y \ e C l 5 ~ r < : .....:1 ! \ ~ \ 1 1 le:. . ' - -- . .. ~ I, . \ ! ;