Guitar Study: Recuerdos de la Alhambra

This time we're going to study the classical tremolo, and there's no better way to do it than with Recuerdos de la Alhambra. 

This is the ultimate expression of the tremolo's feeling turned into music by the master Francisco Tárrega. 

If you truly want to master the tremolo and the feeling of the Andante with a high-level guitar composition, then Recuerdos de la Alhambra is the perfect piece to help you become the master you've always dreamed of being. 

Francisco Tárrega

Francisco Tárrega is one of the most important guitarists in contemporary chamber music. He was born in Villarreal, Spain, and from there he went on to become part of the wider world. 

He stood out above all for an exceptional technique that led him to create compositions of the very highest level. What's more, his quality as a performer matched his technique, as he could evoke emotion like few others. 

Among his compositions there are a great many worth highlighting, but for the purposes of our study, we're going to talk about Recuerdos de la Alhambra. 

The classical tremolo

In the technical world of the guitar we find two types of tremolo: one is the classical and the other is the flamenco. 

Both serve the same purpose, which is to focus the arpeggio on a single note in order to play a series of rapid notes that create the illusion of a continuous, flowing line. 

However, the two ways of playing the tremolo differ in their fingering pattern. That is, the classical tremolo is built on the pattern Thumb - Index - Middle - Ring - Middle - Index, repeating in a loop. 

The flamenco tremolo, on the other hand, is based on the pattern Thumb - Index - Ring - Middle - Index. 

So the classical tremolo consists of six movements, while the flamenco tremolo consists of five. 

Recuerdos de la Alhambra

The contemporary guitar piece Recuerdos de la Alhambra is based entirely on the classical tremolo. 

That said, it doesn't use all six movements; it only has four strokes, in the pattern Thumb - Index - Middle - Ring, though the student is also free to practice it in the pattern Thumb - Ring - Middle - Index.

The goal of this study is for you to be able to practice and master the classical tremolo using the two patterns mentioned above.

Time signature and tempo of Recuerdos de la Alhambra

This contemporary guitar piece is played in simple 3/4 time and at an Andante tempo. 

To get a better feel for the Andante tempo, set your metronome to 76 bpm, and you'll be able to capture the tempo of Recuerdos de la Alhambra. 

The next thing to note about the tempo of this composition is the rhythmic subdivision that prevails throughout the whole piece. We're talking about thirty-second notes, and there's no other rhythmic value in Recuerdos de la Alhambra. 

So while this is a piece set at a slow tempo, the subdivision makes it a difficult piece to play. 

Harmony of Recuerdos de la Alhambra

Harmonically, Recuerdos de la Alhambra is a piece in A minor, but its characteristic melancholic sound comes from Am(add2), a deep and wistful chord. 

The remaining chords all function within the key of A minor, since the piece moves through the chords F, G, C - Bm7b5 - Em - E. 

Overall, Recuerdos de la Alhambra is not a harmonically complex piece, but the chord positions combined with the speed of the tremolo make it a work of art that deserves to be studied and mastered. 

That's why this is the best contemporary guitar piece for getting to know and mastering the classical tremolo. 

As a recommendation, listen to Ana Vidovic's performance because it stays truest to Tárrega's style.

Yes, we're always thinking of you, and we want to give you the very best so you can have an outstanding musical education. That's why we've made the PDF of Recuerdos de la Alhambra available to download. 

Enjoy it!