Tango by Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) By Valérie Duchateau The key of G minor, a key that is rarely used on the guitar, and the lowering of the 6th and 5th strings (E becomes D and A becomes G) make this piece suitable for advanced guitarists. Composed by the "father of the modern guitar", this tango has all the makings of a character piece. In this respect, the rhythm "dotted eighth note, double" must be played accurately: while it is possible to slightly overdot (shorten, so to speak) the eighth note in order to make it livelier, the opposite effect will result in weighing down the musical discourse. The introduction uses rasguedos and tamboras (percussive blows on the bridge), two effects that must be skillfully measured to maintain a certain balance of sound. Before the Da Capo, the piece evolves in G major and, combined with the appearance of triplets, brings a most interesting rhythmic and sound contrast.