# Bossa Nova — Authentic 3-2 clave rhythm (four-bar phrase) # Reference: "The Girl from Ipanema" (João Gilberto), Liberty Park Music notation guide # The 3-2 clave spans 2 bars: bar 1 = three rimshot strokes, bar 2 = two rimshot strokes. # A 4-bar sequence gives two passes through the clave with subtle variations: # Bars 1-2: "full" statement — continuous 8th hi-hat, full surdo kick figure. # Bars 3-4: "open" statement — quarter-note hi-hat breathes, sparser kick, hi-hat # foot heavier on beats 2 & 4 for a more intimate Gilberto feel. # GM notes: 36=kick (surdo), 37=rimshot (clave/cross-stick), 42=closed HH, 44=HH foot # # ── Step grid notation ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── # Each character in a step grid represents one subdivision of the bar. # Resolution controls how many steps per bar (16 = 16th notes in 4/4; 12 = 16th notes in 6/8). # # X Strong accent — velocity = base_velocity × 1.00 (full hit / downbeat) # x Medium accent — velocity = base_velocity × 0.75 (firm stroke / upbeat) # o Soft hit — velocity = base_velocity × 0.55 (brush / light touch) # g Ghost note — velocity = base_velocity × 0.28 (barely audible, mostly felt) # . Rest — no note fired at this step # # Beat positions — 4/4 at resolution 16 (one char per 16th note): # pos 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 # 1 e1 +1 a1 2 e2 +2 a2 3 e3 +3 a3 4 e4 +4 a4 # (1/+/2/+/3/+/4/+ = quarter beats; e = "e of"; a = "and-a of") # # Beat positions — 6/8 at resolution 12 (one char per 16th note): # pos 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 # C1 . e1 . a1 . C2 . e2 . a2 . # (C1/C2 = compound beat downbeats; each compound beat = 3 eighth notes = 6 steps) # # Swing / feel: the 'feel' field shifts odd-indexed steps (1,3,5,7…) forward in time. # straight — no shift (all steps exactly on the grid) # swing_soft — odd steps delayed ~16 % of a step (light swing) # swing_hard — odd steps delayed ~34 % of a step (jazz/shuffle triplet feel) # laid_back — same as straight with slower humanisation envelope # ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── name: Bossa Nova family: latin bpm_range: [80, 140] time_signature: [4, 4] resolution: 16 feel: laid_back instruments: kick: { note: 36, base_velocity: 85, velocity_range: 12, timing_jitter: 0.018, rush: -0.02, duration_beats: 0.12 } rimshot: { note: 37, base_velocity: 85, velocity_range: 12, timing_jitter: 0.015, rush: 0.012, duration_beats: 0.08 } hihat: { note: 42, base_velocity: 65, velocity_range: 12, timing_jitter: 0.015, duration_beats: 0.07 } hihat_foot: { note: 44, base_velocity: 60, velocity_range: 10, timing_jitter: 0.015, duration_beats: 0.07 } crash: { note: 49, base_velocity: 90, velocity_range: 8, timing_jitter: 0.010, duration_beats: 0.22 } humanization: timing_jitter: 0.018 velocity_jitter: 12 velocity_drift: 0.06 sections: intro: type: count_in hits: 4 note: 37 groove: # 4-bar sequence = 2 full clave cycles; bars 3-4 are an open/lighter variation # so the pattern breathes and avoids metronomic repetition. type: sequence bars: 4 bar_grids: - # Bar 1 — "3 side" of 3-2 clave (heavier, full statement) # Rimshot on pos 0 (beat 1), pos 3 ("a" of 1), pos 6 ("and" of 2) # Kick: surdo pattern — beat 1, "and of 2" (pos 7), "a of 3" (pos 11) hihat: "x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x." rimshot: "X..X..X........." kick: "X......X...X...." hihat_foot: "....x.......x..." - # Bar 2 — "2 side" of 3-2 clave (lighter, two strokes only) # Rimshot on pos 3 ("a" of 1) and pos 9 ("a" of 2 = beat 3-ish) # Kick: beat 1 and "and of 2" — simpler, more open hihat: "x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x." rimshot: "...X.....X......" kick: "X......X........" hihat_foot: "....x.......x..." - # Bar 3 — "3 side" open variation: quarter hi-hat (more breathing room) # Accented hi-hat on beats 1 & 3 only — the "guitarist comping" feel. # Extra kick push at "e of beat 3" (pos 9) anticipates the bar 4 landing. hihat: "X...x...X...x..." rimshot: "X..X..X........." kick: "X......X.X......" hihat_foot: "....X.......X..." - # Bar 4 — "2 side" open variation: sparse kick, slight rimshot anticipation # The earlier rimshot at pos 2 ("e of 1") creates subtle forward pull. hihat: "x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x." rimshot: "..XX.....X......" kick: "X.....X........." hihat_foot: "....x.......x..." fill: bars: 1 variations: - name: rimshot_run # Ascending rimshot run: density increases each beat — classic bossa fill. rimshot: "X..X..X.X.X.X.X." kick: "X..............." - name: sparse # Minimal fill: three rimshots and a kick accent — bossa restraint. rimshot: "....X..X..X....." kick: "X..............X" - name: samba_break # More energetic: kick and rimshot interlock, hi-hat foot drives the clave. kick: "X.X.....X.X....." rimshot: "....X.X.....X.X." hihat_foot: "X...X...X...X..." crash: bars: 1 variations: - name: standard crash: "X..............." kick: "X..............." hihat: "x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x." structure: fill_every: 4 break_every: 0 break_length: 1 crash_after_fill: true dynamic_build: false