Leyendo en el Hospital
The score for The Motorcycle Diaries is widely regarded as one of Gustavo Santaolalla’s masterworks. Directed by Walter Salles, the 2004 film is adapted from the journals of two real-life Argentines, Alberto Granado and Ernesto Guevara de la Serna.
Depicting the complex human and social landscape of South America in the early 1950s, I see The Motorcycle Diaries as a Latin American parallel to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. At its core, it’s a powerful coming-of-age story as two young men venture out into their broader landscape and culture.
Leyendo en el Hospital (“Reading in the Hospital”) is a sparse, and immensely creative motif by Santaolalla. This particular song was pivotal in my own musical journey. It was the moment I realized a single nylon-string guitar, drenched in haunting reverb, could perfectly score a film. It has since become one of my favorite guitar pieces.
Santaolalla’s tone here… is deep, round, and raw. The chord shapes are achieved with (his now-famous) two-note interval technique, and are very easy to play. However, the execution requires considerable agility to capture the song’s delicate movements.
A great piece for beginner guitar players.
You might also like to play…
(a few more from the Motorcycle Diaries)
La Muerte de la Poderosa | fingerstyle guitar + TAB
Chichina | fingerstyle guitar + TAB
The Motorcycle Diaries: Apertura + TAB
How to play Leyendo en el Hospital | fingerstyle guitar
The guitar tab for this piece is beautifully written across 3 pages, and played straight through. The strummed sections use an open hand strum. You can see the technique in 0:53 of the video. Pretend that you’re flicking water at someone with your strumming hand. The giant X indicates that the strings are muted with your fretting hand.]
[guitar tab] **Gustavo Santaolalla: Leyendo en el Hospital | fingerstyle guitar
Leyendo en el Hospital is played in a very low, 2 1/2 step down, tuning. Here’s the tuning from low to high: B E A D F# B.
You could just as easily tune one whole step down (D G C F A D) and the song will sound reasonably good.