Learn how to play "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits on guitar!

In my book, this has to be one of the most beautiful guitar riffs ever.

And, of course, Romeo and Juliet is played by Mark Knopfler. What a genius. I wish I had a Dobro to teach you how to play this Dire Straits classic. But the good news is that this song also sounds lovely on the acoustic guitar!

I don't think I emphasized it enough in the video, really, but to master this one - you'll need to take it really slow. The fingerpicking patterns are a little odd, so you'll need to work on them slowly and correctly. If not, it will never feel natural under your fingers.

If you're following my Guitar Courses, this song is suitable for more advanced guitar players Grade 7+. Now - let's get stuck in. We've got loads of things to check out.

Romeo & Juliet - Guitar Tuning

You'll need to tune your guitar to Open G Tuning to play Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits. Then, you'll place your guitar capo on the 3rd fret. Let me give you a few tricks to get that right!

First, I'd recommend you tune roughly to the Open G Tuning: D G D G B D. Then, put your capo on and re-tune your guitar. With the capo on, the tuning of Romeo and Juliet is F Bb F Bb D F.

🚨 Always tune your strings up to a note, never down, especially with a capo.

Once you have the tuning roughly in, you'll probably need to tweak it a bit. This song will sound weird if you don't get the tuning correct! I simply play the open Bb chord and try to listen out for any notes that need tweaking. They shouldn't need much, so make small movements!

Romeo & Juliet - Chords Shapes

You'll only need three chord shapes to play Romeo and Juliet on the guitar. Start with an F Chord - that won't look like an F Chord because of the tuning. So, check out the video tutorial to learn more about the grip. If you want chords, tabs, and lyrics to follow along with it, check out JustinGuitar Tabs. :)

The intro will play around with that chord shape and even open strings. It sounds fantastic. I love playing around with altered tuning on the guitar, and I'd recommend you dig into it too. It improves all aspects of your musicianship!

You'll need to nail legato techniques to sound good playing this Dire Strait classic. Get ready to use some hammer-ons if you want to sound any close to the recording. If you don't know what that means, check out my Introduction to Legato Techniques lesson. If you need help with your techniques, here are the lessons you need.

💬 I'd love to see some video responses of you guys playing this song! If you make it a video response to this song, let the link in the Discussion section, and I'll do my best to check it out!

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