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Africa and the Indian Ocean

Congolese rumba and soukous on guitar: chords and rhythm.

Congolese rumba and soukous turn on two chords, E and B7, but their guitars are among the most virtuosic in Africa. In the sebene, the instrumental section, they chain fast, bright arpeggios that weave through each other.

I – V7Level · Expert

The progression

Pick a key: the charts change right below. "Listen" plays the progression with its rhythm; a click on a chord plays it alone, the arrow opens its page.

Key

In E major · 124 BPM
  • E
    E major231
  • B7
    B 7×2134

The rhythm

One bar of the strumming hand, beat by beat. While it plays, the stroke being played lights up.

1
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2
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3
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4
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  • the bass, with the thumb
  • the high strings
  • the high strings, cut short
  • the alternating bass

From the same world

Afrobeat's interlocking guitars, the arpeggios of the Congo, desert blues, Algerian raï and the séga of the islands.