Lágrima, translated as “Teardrop”, is a classical piece written by Spanish guitarist and composer, Francisco Tárrega. It features a captivating melody and an interesting key change, making it a rewarding piece to learn.
This is ideal for advanced beginner to intermediate guitarists using a fingerpicking technique.
In this lesson, we’ll cover the guitar arrangement for Lágrima including tabs. Grab your guitar and let’s get started!
Music symbols to review
Here is an overview of some of the music symbols used in the piece.
: Pull off symbol is used to indicate releasing your finger to play the next note without picking the string again.
Hammer on symbol is used to indicate pressing down on the next note without picking the string again.
/ or \ = diagonal lines between two notes represent a slide (only pick the first note and slide/move your fretting finger to the next note).
Rit = ritardando (gradually make the tempo slower).
D.C. al Fine – Go back to the beginning of the piece (D. C.) until the end (fine).
If you need help reading this piece, check out this simple guide to understanding music symbols.
Note on barre chord symbols
You might see barre chords written as C.1, C.2, etc… to represent the Spanish word “cejilla” which means barre. I replace this with B.1, B.2, etc… to represent a barre on a certain fret.
Note that these symbols don’t always require barring all strings, so check the notation to see which string the barre starts on. The dashed lines indicate how long to hold each barre.
Song form
The form of this piece is A, A, B, B, A with a key change in the B section starting on measure 9. The song starts in E Major and transitions to E minor in the B section.
Lágrima – guitar arrangement
One of the challenges may be the barre chords in certain spots throughout the piece. If needed, this other lesson gives you 5 tips to get better at playing barre chords on guitar.
Backing Track
🎶 Want to practice along with an audio track? Get the Lágrima guitar track here!
To learn other songs by Francisco Tárrega, check out Adelita, Malagueña, Gran Vals, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, or his arrangement of Moonlight Sonata.
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See the resource tab for more sheet music with guitar tabs.
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