Bossa Nova

music · Brazil · rhythm

Guitar tells the story. Bossa nova uses a fingerstyle guitar technique that copies the beat of a whole samba school band, making one guitar sound like many instruments playing together.

Syncopated and chill. The music has a calm, bouncy rhythm where beats land in unexpected places, creating a relaxed groove that makes you want to move.

Complex chord magic. Bossa nova uses unusual and complicated chord combinations that create interesting, ambiguous sounds, though these chords weren't borrowed from jazz but developed separately by Brazilian guitarists since the 1920s.

Born in Rio. Bossa nova was created in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950s and early 1960s, revolutionizing Brazilian music and making it more modern.

Jazz connection. Although bossa nova wasn't directly copied from jazz, the two styles influenced each other, and many bossa nova songs became famous jazz standards played around the world.