Romanza Part 1: Melody on the First String

This video will walk you through playing the first part a traditional Spanish piece titled Romanza. This PDF of the Melody to Romanza will help you memorize this first section of the piece.

Important things to keep in mind:

  • The numbers on the PDF and on the video are all frets on the first string only. You may use any finger on the left hand to play these frets, and don't be afraid to change them occasionally
  • These numbers are actually notes and are all equal in time, and you should play them at a slow and steady tempo (tempo is the word for the speed of the beat in music)
  • These notes are grouped in sets of three, which we refer to as measures or bars, each three notes is its own measure, the first note of each measure should get a little extra emphasis

Suggestions for Memorization:

  • Sound: the music will eventually become fixed in your mind through repetition
  • Sight: watching the numbers on the page, and watching your left-hand fingers on the guitar, is very useful in generating a clear memory of the music

Active Practice

Many students tend to simply repeat the piece of music over and over again from the beginning to learn it. This is a fairly passive and inefficient way to learn music. We can be more active and effective in our learning by:

  • If you know the beginning well, but not the end: practice starting from near to the end or the middle, never start from the beginning to fix a problem that occurs later in the piece
  • Read the numbers out loud, slowly and steadily, with and without the guitar, emphasizing the beginning of each measure (a group of three numbers)