“Desafinado,” meaning “out of tune” or “slightly out of tune,” was composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Newton Mendonça in 1959. The 1962 album Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd made it a hit in the United States and helped spark the bossa nova craze. The lyric playfully defends a singer who’s accused of singing out of tune.
The tune is often played in F major, in a long form with several sections. Its melody features notes that sound “out of tune” on purpose, like the sharp eleven over a dominant chord early in the song, giving the tune its wry personality. The harmony moves through ii-Vs, secondary dominants and modulations, including a shift to a distant key in the middle section.
For improvisation, embrace the sharp eleven sound: use Lydian dominant over the dominant chords. Treat each section as its own map, marking key changes on your lead sheet. Bossa nova calls for gentle, singable lines with straight eighth notes, so don’t overplay. Stan Getz’s solo on Jazz Samba is a perfect model of lyrical bossa improvisation.
Practice the form slowly with a bossa groove until you can navigate the sections without looking. Learn the melody by singing it; its unusual notes are easier to remember once you hear them as intentional.
How to use this Desafinado Lead Sheet PDF: print it or keep it on a tablet, mark the form sections and key centers in pencil, and write the guide tones you want to target above the tricky bars. Revisit those notes after each practice session so the tune gets easier every week.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate to advanced because of the long form and modulations. Recordings to study: Getz and Byrd’s Jazz Samba and João Gilberto’s vocal version. Learn more about the composer on Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Wikipedia page, and find more bossa nova lead sheets on Minedit.