Brazilian music in teaching materials for guitar: canons and variations

The acoustic guitar and Brazilian music are two elements that have consistently interacted throughout history, having multiple and reciprocal influences within each other. This relationship has been fundamental in understanding and building interpretive and technical aspects in music education processes. Therefore, this article debates how various teaching materials for acoustic guitar approach the Brazilian repertoire. Consequently, we analyzed six teaching materials published in Brazil by focusing on the repertoire and relating it to other characteristics of the materials and their authors. Therefore, based on documentary research conducted in 2019 and 2020, we approach each teaching material as a primary source for our analysis. Through this analysis, we found that each one of the materials selected provides pieces from the Brazilian repertoire. Therefore, we decided to debate and reflect on how this repertoire is presented. We found that, although the materials include pieces from the Brazilian repertoire, various aspects of the acoustic guitar were ignored. We also noticed that Brazilian music represents a minority of the musical content in these materials, especially regarding solo guitar. As a result, the study highlights the need for better structure for acoustic guitar teaching through Brazilian repertoire for all levels of learners, beginners to advanced, that seeks to acknowledge and address the different conceptions of the instrument.