A Rã Tutorial
In this lesson we’re going to look at A Rã by João Donato. We have looked at other João Donato compositions in the past and they are great because they are simple, they have beautiful groove, and João Donato is a fantastic pianist.
A Rã is perfect for someone who wants to learn a Brazilian tune in a few minutes – the melody has only four notes. The repeated notes in the melody represent the call of a frog, possibly inspired by Donato’s rainforest upbringing. The simple melody is then placed on two seperate harmonic schemes, one being a simple Dm7 G7 vamp and the other a more complex chord sequence.
The repeated notes in the melody are also an opportunity to practice the technique known as hammering in which you use two fingers to rapidly play the same note.
Lesson Downloads
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A Rã lead sheet File Type: pdf -
A Rã transcription File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
In this 5 minute masterclass we will look at how a pair of triads can define any mode and become a strong sound for improvising and comping.
In this 5 minute masterclass we will explore how we can use triads as a way to create improvised melodies and whole improvised solos.
In this lesson, we will explore a simple Samba groove that will be effective for working with all kinds of Brazilian Samba and Bossa Nova tunes.
Practice Tips
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The repeated melody notes in this tune are a challenge to playing in time with a good groove. Practice the hammering technique with a metronome to make it comfortable before introducing the left hand.
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Check out the transcription pdf above and look at how Jovino accompanies himself while playing the melody.
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Challenge yourself to improvise only using the triads Jovino mentions in the video.
Not sure if there’s anyone here now, been months since anyone was.
I took lessons long ago and chords were never mentioned so I started again, now find reading chord symbols easier than standard sheet music. I really want to be able to play without sheet music so trying to learn what chords to put with tunes.
I have the standard sheet music for a tune now, no chords added, and don’t know how to convert it so I’m looking for a pattern, or a guide to change both treble and bass groups to chord symbols. I can use the melody note to ensure I’m in the right place but don’t know what to name the rest of it.
Example sets of chords, key of Ab: treble: FDC, bass: AB, then to FDB and GB. What would they be called if in a bass chord each?
Hi Janet,
Thanks for getting in touch.
For general theory questions we support our students in the community area:
https://www.pianogroove.com/community/c/theory
Cheers!
Hayden
Great Lesson Jovino. Many thanks. I love Joao Donato and this is one of my favourite tunes of his (another is Bananeira!). Really looking forward to trying to get these under my fingers! His playing sounds so effortless and he has such amazing grooves. I believe he played with Cuban musicians in the US in the 1950s and you can sometimes hear that influence in his music also.
I’m still going with this and it’s coming along albeit slowly. Still loving the tune and Jovino’s solos are amazing and I can watch them again and again. I think my appreciation for his skill grows the more I watch. On another note- I think there may be an error in the chord sheet- at the beginning of bar 16 I think he plays Em7 and not A9.
I do have a question for Hayden or Jovino- how do you recommend practicing scale patterns for improvising and can you point me to any lessons? Jovino seems to use a few patterns in his solos on this tune but I haven’t had the time to sit down and figure them out yet (although I will)
Hi Richard,
My apologies for the late reply here. I was not notified of this comment. I was just referencing this lesson for another student and I saw your comment.
I will pass your scale pattern question onto Jovino and I’m sure this is something that Jovino can cover in an upcoming live seminar.
Cheers,
Hayden