Romanza Guitar Lesson

Genre:

Difficulty:
Length: 20:05

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Wikipedia page
Music video

• 3/4 time rhythm
• Arpeggios
• Barre chords
• Open chords
• Scales

Romanza is a great classical piece from the 19th century, one of my favorite songs to play when I feel like a bit of classical guitar. I really believe that all guitarists need to know this song, regardless of whether you are into classical guitar or not.

Besides being a truly wonderful song that others will love listening to, it is great for practicing your fingerpicking, arpeggios, and chords.

The song is played in 3/4th time and made up of 2 parts, the first one is totally suitable for beginners, and the second one more for intermediate players. If you are just starting out, learn just the first section of the song, and get back to the 2nd section when you are more comfortable with barre chords, and more complex chord fingerings and changes.

We'll start off our guitar lesson on Romanza with the first section of the song, which is played in the key of E minor. We’ll learn the E minor scale, on which all of the melody notes are played on the high E string. If you need a refresher on the minor scale, I suggest you read up a little before starting the lesson.

We’ll continue with learning the picking pattern which will recur all throughout the song, so learn it well. Also, make sure to accent those melody notes. You want to place a higher emphasis on the melody notes in your arpeggios, than the rest of the notes.

You’ll also want to be mindful of your hand positions while playing the melody notes. Don’t just move your first finger along the guitar neck, rather aim for the most efficient fingering with as few position changes as possible.

The second section of Romanza is played in the key of E major, rather than E minor as the first one was. As I mentioned, this section is much harder than the previous one, so if you are just starting out, you should learn this section at a later stage of your guitar studies.

You’ll be learning several new chords in this section of the song, and have a go at really quick barre chord changes, which are tough, even for seasoned players. Give it time, be patient, practice a lot, and you’ll get it.

While this is a classical piece best enjoyed on an acoustic guitar, you should learn this song even if you only have an electric guitar. Just make sure you turn down your distortion all the way, to get a clean sound.

Romanza song details

Romanza actually goes by many names, some people call it Romance, Romance Anónimo, Romance of the Guitar, and more similar titles. The origins of the piece are not 100% certain, but the most likely composer was Antonio Rubira, who gave the name Estudio en Mi de Rubira (Study in E by Rubira) to the song.

The song is made up of 3 parts, the first 2 we’ve discussed already, the 3rd one is the first played over again.

If you want to refine the skills you learned in Romanza, check out these lessons on songs by clicking these links:
3/4 time rhythm / Arpeggios / Barre chords / Open chords / Scales

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