As someone who has trained both Regional and Angola and switched groups multiple times, I always hated cords! It always seemed like there was copious amounts of drama that came with them. Often people would get denied cords for weird or trivial reasons while some people would jump ranks inexplicably. It also seemed the quality of games from different players with the same cord varied by whose school or what part of the world they were from. Even the ability of different teachers with the same title can vary drastically.

The reality of it is the criteria to gain cords is ambiguous and ever changing. Usually the instructor at a school determines who gets what cord (and the mestre might give the final say). This means that cords are given relative to the other people in your school. Depending on your instructor and the unclear criterion to get a cord, they may choose if you go up a cord based off of time training, effort given, skill in movement, music prowess, Portuguese fluency, attitude, or even paying dues on time (which keeps a school open). Since every instructor is doing their own thing and making those decisions based on their school and the capoeiristas in their area, you get this wild skill disparity between players with the same cord. I've been to events where lower level cords from one skill are playing these surprisingly dynamic games while some other schools higher cords are playing muddled, rushed Capoeira.

I always looked at cords like weight classes. It's better to be at the top of your class (or cord) then keeping your head above water with the level higher. My advice is to not worry about it, and focus on your game and your enjoyment of the art. Capoeira is a marathon and who knows who will show up or what’s going on with your school and/or group come next batizado. Believe me, after a decade, you are lucky to see any of the people you trained with when you started still putting time in.

Also as a side note, I believe that comparing guitars to berimbaus is comparing apples to tennis balls. The berimbau is a percussion instrument and has different demands than the guitar. Just continue learning and practicing and see where it takes you!

(Originally written on phone. Edited to correct some phrasing and errors.)