In this video Jeff Peterson plays his arrangement of Carinhoso for fingerstyle ukulele.

Carinhoso

“Carinhoso” is one of the most well-known and beloved songs in the “choro” genre from Brazil. It was written by Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho (better known simply as Pixinguinha) and João de Barro (better known as Braguinha) in 1928. Pixinguinha actually wrote the music in 1917 but it had too much “jazz” to conform to the traditional choro and so he didn’t release it until eleven years later.

You can read much more about the background of Carinhoso here.

Lyrics

Meu coração// My heart,
Não sei por que// I don’t know why
Bate feliz// Beats happily
Quando te vê// When it sees you
E os meus olhos ficam sorrindo// And my eyes can’t stop smiling
E pelas ruas vão te seguindo// And, through the streets, they go on following you
Mas mesmo assim// But even so
Foges de mim// You avoid me

Ah! se tu soubesses como eu sou tão carinhoso// Ah, if you only knew how loving I am
E o muito e muito que te quero// And just how much I want you
E como é sincero meu amor// And how sincere my love is
Eu sei que tu não fugirias mais de mim// I know you wouldn’t run from me anymore

Vem, vem, vem, vem // Come, come, come, come…
Vem sentir o calor dos labios meus// Come feel the warmth of my lips
À procura dos teus// Seeking yours
Vem matar esta paixão// Come quench this passion
Que me devora o coração// Which devours my heart
E só assim, então// And only then
Serei feliz, bem feliz// Will I be happy – very happy

Carinhoso for Fingerstyle Ukulele

In Jeff’s arrangement of this famous song for fingerstyle ukulele he keeps the spirit of the choro alive along with the improvisatory jazz elements others originally didn’t like in Pixinguinha’s song at first. A big feature of Jeff’s arrangement is the use of “campanella” fingerings where fretted notes are allowed to bleed across strings to create “bell”-like textures. (“Campanella” means little bell.) We hope you enjoy this performance of a classic song!

***

This is just one of many fingerstyle ukulele arrangements Jeff has created for members at Ukulele Corner Academy. We hope you’ll join Ukulele Corner Academy today!