String Love Guitar Lessons

Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Songs!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at the beautiful Angel Heart, learned a bit about Open Your Heart and then enjoyed In the Light of Love.

That’s a whole lot of English-language love guitar.

Today, it’s time to trek down to Brazil to learn a stunningly beautiful tune called Vilarejo. This song comes off of Marisa Monte’s fantastic album Infinito Particular. If you’re at all amenable to beautiful Brazilian music, then this recording is highly recommended. You can buy it from Amazon here.

So, there are a few things to note about this tune before we dive into the tab.

The first: it’s in Brazilian Portuguese. I’ll provide a translation of the lyrics at the bottom of this page. I understand that you might not be interested in trying to play complicated chords and finger patterns while also fumbling through sung Brazilian Portuguese. If that’s the case, don’t worry about it–the guitar work for this song is more than beautiful enough to feed your interest, and Vilarejo will be here for you if/when you’re ready to dive into singing in foreign languages. Portuguese definitely rewards your efforts, so at least be open to it at some time in the future.

For now, though, I’ll give you the lyrics and the chords and let you focus on just the guitar part if that’s what you feel like doing.

Second, you’ll notice that this song is a step up in terms of difficulty from the past few weeks’ Friday Songs. I’m trying to make these Friday songs accessible more often than not, but there’s nothing like a challenge to help you spur your guitar playing to a higher level.

Vilarejo is originally played in E minor, but the arrangement I am going to share with you is in D minor. You have options–you can capo up to play in the original key, or you could just play it non-capo’d in E minor. I find it easier to sing Vilarejo in D minor, but try things out and see what you like.

So, with those asides, let’s dive right into this gorgeous, sweet, beautiful song.

Vilarejo is in 3/4, so you’ll have to account for that as you play the rhythm.

To begin, hold on a Cmaj7 chord for a bit. Then, dive in:

Vilarejo

Dm7
Há um vilarejo ali
G7sus G7
Onde areja um vento bom
Cmaj7
Na varanda, quem descansa
Cmaj7 A7
Vê o horizonte deitar no chão
Dm7
Pra acalmar o coração
G9sus G7
Lá o mundo tem razão
Cmaj7
Terra de heróis, lares de mãe
Cmaj7 A7
Paraiso se mudou para lá
Dm7
Por cima das casas, cal
G9sus G7
Frutos em qualquer quintal
Cmaj7
Peitos fartos, filhos fortes
Cmaj7 A7
Sonho semeando o mundo real
Dm7
Toda gente cabe lá
G9sus G7
Palestina, Shangri-lá
Cmaj7
Vem andar e voa
Cmaj7
Vem andar e voa
Cmaj7
Vem andar e voa
Em7
Lá o tempo espera
A7
Lá é primavera
D7+9
Portas e janelas ficam sempre abertas
Bm7 Em7
Pra sorte entrar
Em7
Em todas as mesas, pão
A7
Flores enfeitando
D7+9
Os caminhos, os vestidos, os destinos
Bm7 Em7
E essa canção
Em7
Tem um verdadeiro amor
A7 Am7 Dm7 Am7 Dm7 (etc.)
Para quando você for…

Then back to the top!

Of course, the chords are just the beginning when it comes to playing Brazilian guitar. You may be wondering what on earth you should do with your picking hand to bring out the flavor and spice of these beautiful chords.

I’m working on a new series of online guitar lessons treating the ins and outs of basic Brazilian guitar. Keep an eye on this blog and the lessons page to jump on those when they come out.

For now, any sort of 3/4 rhythm will do–just make sure you work these chords up until they’re very comfortable for your fretting hand.

Happy picking and see you next Friday for another beautiful song!