Machu Picchu. Photo by Eduardo Flores on Unsplash

Lima

Lima is one of my favorite tracks from Gustavo Santaolalla’s The Motorcycle Diaries soundtrack. Rather than his usual minimalist approach, Lima really displays Santaolalla’s guitar prowess.

I had an opportunity to see Gustavo Santaolalla play live in Pittsburgh with his band Bajofondo. Rather than a conventional guitar soloist, his virtuosity is in playing complex chord patterns, often at lightning speed. He seems to have a deep, innate understanding of chord structures. Amazing for someone who doesn’t read music, or have a background in music theory.

You might also like to play…
(some other pieces from The Motorcycle Diaries)

Apertura + TAB

La Muerte De La Poderosa | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

Chichina | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

How to play Lima | fingerstyle guitar

Lima is a challenge to play. None of the chord shapes are difficult, but you will have to be very agile — as everything needs to move quickly and gracefully. I recommend Lima for intermediate guitar players and up.

The guitar tab for Lima is 3 pages long, and beautifully written. My order of play (in accordance with the guitar tab) looks like this: Page one, Page two — Page one [refrain] — Page three [End].

Enjoy, the guitar tab is available below:

**Gustavo Santaolalla: Lima (The Motorcycle Diaries)

Lima is played in standard tuning.