This lesson covers how to play Andantino (Opus 21, No. 1) by Italian guitarist and composer Matteo Carcassi. We’ll cover chords used in this piece and sheet music for the melody including guitar tabs. Grab your guitar and let’s get started!

How to read the guitar chord charts

To clarify how to read the chord charts in the next section, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand. 

For example, on the C Major chord, you use the:

• 1st finger on the 2nd string, 1st fret
• 2nd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret
• 3rd finger on the 5th string, 3rd fret
• Circles represent open strings
• X means to avoid the string
  

You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.

Andantino chords

Some of the common chords you will see in this piece below are C Major, G/B, G Major, and D 7. You can click on the chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord.

Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them.

Here are some other resources on chords:

• What are the first chords you should learn on guitar?
• 6 tips to get better at switching between chords on guitar
• How to play the essential 7th chords on guitar
• How to play chord inversions on guitar
  

Andantino by Carcassi with guitar tabs

For the sheet music below, the numbers next to some notes on the top staff indicate which fingers to use on the fretting hand.

If needed, you can refer to this simple guide to understanding music symbols or how to finger pick on guitar.

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Want to learn more songs? Check out the sheet music with guitar tabs resource on this site.

JG

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