Since my childhood, I have always listened to and loved Brazilian popular music: Baden Powell, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ernesto Nazareth, João Pernambuco, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Egberto Gismonti... the list goes on.

These 12 chôrinhos, inspired by Brazilian popular music, were conceived as a pedagogical tool to help students become familiar with all 12 major and 12 minor keys, in the spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach’s two books of 24 Preludes and Fugues. Very few guitar works have been composed in keys with more than four sharps or three flats.

In addition, the rhythm guitar part of the 12 chôrinhos is written as a transposing instrument in order to achieve a better register. It should be read as if played in first position, but with a capo placed at the fifth fret. Consequently, the key signature will be written one step higher around the circle of fifths (i.e., up a perfect fifth). For example, if the piece is in C major, the left-hand positions with capo V correspond to those of G major.