Spanish Romance

Fingerstyle Guitar Song

Let me show you how to play one of the most famous songs on the guitar.

Spanish Romance, also known as “Estudio en Mi de Rubira” (Study in E by Rubira), “Spanish Romance,” “Romance de España,” “Romance de Amor,” “Romance of the Guitar,” “Romanza” and “Romance d’Amour” among other names is one of the most played songs on classical and acoustic guitar.

Composed a long time ago by an anonymous composer, this melody has become one of the songs that beginners guitar players play the most.

We heard the song no matter how old we are. I was 10 when I first heard it, and I kind of knew it already (how weird).

What an awesome fingerstyle guitar song for beginners.

Let’s get started.

Spanish Romance Video Lesson

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Right Hand Arpeggio

The right-hand arpeggio pattern is one of the most characteristic features of this beautiful piece. It gives flow and musicality to the melody, and it is also an awesome fingerstyle exercise.

We can break the arpeggio down into triplets (1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3) played with the same plucking pattern throughout.

Here’s an example of the Spanish Romance fingerstyle pattern.

The red square shows you the three groups of triplet within each bar.

Each group of three notes will be played with the same fingerstyle pattern: ring (a), middle (m), and index (i).

The only exception occurs at the beginning of each bar, where the thumb (p) will play the first note simultaneously with the ring finger.

The Melody

The Most Recognized Melody on Guitar

Spanish Romance is one of the most recognized melodies on the guitar.

There are a bunch of components that make this melody catchy.

The minor key makes this song sound sad and mellow.
The melody follows the minor scale, so it becomes extremely catchy.
The triplets give a nice flow.
The accompaniment is mainly played with open strings, which makes the song pretty simple to play.
The melody is played on one string.

Guitar Tip

There are a ton of guitar students who start this song by just playing the melody.

This is an option you can consider if you are a total beginner and still new to fingerstyle.

However, you should avoid playing the melody with one finger only. Instead, always alternate index and middle finger throughout.

The yellow square shows you the melody, which should be played with the ring finger.

The red square is the accompaniment, which will be played with m – i

FINGERSTYLE GUITAR LESSONS

Spanish Romance Classical Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson