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The Romantics

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What I Like About You - Guitar Lesson

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Band Overview

The Romantics burst out of Detroit, Michigan in 1977, riding the line between power pop, punk energy, and New Wave hooks. Formed by guitarist/vocalist Wally Palmar, guitarist Mike Skill, bassist Rich Cole, and drummer Jimmy Marinos, they were part of a vibrant Detroit scene that valued raw, no-nonsense rock guitar. Their self-titled debut in 1980 and the massive hit "What I Like About You" cemented them as one of the most fun, riff-driven bands of the early 1980s. For guitarists, The Romantics represent the art of making simple, irresistible guitar parts that absolutely lock in with a driving rhythm section. What makes The Romantics essential for electric guitarists is the interplay between Wally Palmar and Mike Skill. Both players favor a bright, punchy tone rooted in open chords, power chords, and aggressive strumming patterns. Their approach is not about shredding or complex theory; it is about rhythm, energy, and dynamics. Songs like "What I Like About You" are built on a relentless eighth-note strumming pattern with open-position chords that sound deceptively simple but demand tight timing and consistent attack to pull off with the right feel. The dual-guitar arrangement gives each player a distinct role: one drives the rhythmic engine while the other adds melodic fills and accents. For beginner and intermediate guitarists, The Romantics are an ideal band to study. The chord shapes are approachable (mostly open E, A, and D-based voicings), and the tempos are brisk but not unmanageable. The real challenge is in the stamina and precision required to keep aggressive strumming patterns clean and locked in with the drums at high energy for an entire song. Learning their material will sharpen your rhythm guitar skills, your sense of dynamics, and your ability to make straightforward parts feel electric and alive. If you want to understand why rhythm guitar is the backbone of rock and roll, The Romantics are a perfect starting point.

What Makes The Romantics Essential for Guitar Players

The signature riff of 'What I Like About You' is built on fast, open-chord strumming (A, E, D) with a driving downstroke-heavy attack. Nailing the feel requires consistent right-hand rhythm and the confidence to keep the strumming pattern locked even at high tempos.
The Romantics use a dual-guitar setup where one player handles the main rhythmic chord work while the other adds single-note fills, brief melodic lines, and accent chords. Learning both parts teaches you how two guitars can occupy different sonic spaces without stepping on each other.
Palm-muting is used sparingly but effectively to create dynamic contrast. The verses often open up with full, ringing open chords, and subtle palm-muted sections add punch to transitions. This is a great exercise in controlling your right hand's contact with the strings.
Their lead work is rooted in pentatonic shapes and simple, hooky melodic phrases rather than technical fireworks. This makes their solos accessible for intermediate players and teaches the important lesson that memorable melody always beats flashy technique.
Strumming endurance is a real factor when learning The Romantics. Songs like 'What I Like About You' demand sustained, aggressive strumming at around 160 BPM for several minutes. Practicing this builds right-hand stamina and teaches you to stay relaxed while playing with intensity.

Did You Know?

Mike Skill originally played bass in The Romantics before switching to guitar, which influenced his rhythmic, groove-oriented approach to six-string playing. His bass background gave him a natural sense of how guitar parts should lock in with the rhythm section.

'What I Like About You' was recorded in a straightforward, live-in-the-studio approach with minimal overdubs. The raw energy you hear on the track is largely the sound of the band playing together in real time, which is why the guitar parts feel so immediate and punchy.

The Romantics were known for their matching red leather suits in their early career, but their gear choices were equally deliberate. They favored bright, cutting guitar tones that could punch through a loud, energetic live mix without relying on heavy gain or effects.

The band's Detroit roots placed them alongside acts like The MC5 and Iggy Pop in a lineage of high-energy, no-frills rock. That Motor City influence shows in their preference for raw power chords and aggressive strumming over polished studio trickery.

Despite being labeled as 'new wave' by the press, The Romantics' guitar approach owes more to 1960s British Invasion bands like The Kinks and The Beatles. Their chord voicings and strumming patterns echo that jangly, trebly style filtered through punk urgency.

'Talking in Your Sleep,' their other major hit from 1983, showcased a notably different guitar tone with more chorus and cleaner textures, proving the band could adapt their guitar approach to suit a poppier production style without losing their identity.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

The Romantics 1980

This self-titled debut is the essential Romantics album for guitarists. It contains 'What I Like About You' and a collection of similarly high-energy, chord-driven tracks that will build your rhythm guitar chops and right-hand endurance. The raw production lets you hear every nuance of the strumming patterns and dual-guitar interplay.

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In Heat 1983

In Heat features 'Talking in Your Sleep' and shows The Romantics exploring cleaner, more textured guitar tones with chorus and reverb effects. For guitarists, this album is a great lesson in how to adapt your playing from raw punk energy to polished new wave pop while keeping your parts interesting and dynamic.

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National Breakout 1980

Their second album continues the stripped-down power pop formula with tracks that emphasize tight rhythm guitar work and catchy melodic hooks. It is a great companion piece to the debut for anyone working on fast strumming patterns and open-chord progressions at punk-influenced tempos.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Wally Palmar and Mike Skill have been associated with a range of guitars over the years, but their classic early sound was built around solid-body electrics suited for bright, cutting tones. Skill has been seen with various Fender-style guitars including Telecasters and Stratocasters, while Palmar also favored guitars with single-coil or bright humbucker configurations. For the raw, jangly-meets-punky tone of their debut era, a Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster in the bridge position gets you closest to that signature bite.

Amp

The Romantics' early recorded tones suggest medium-gain tube amps pushed into natural breakup. Think along the lines of a Fender Twin Reverb or similar American-voiced amp cranked to the edge of distortion, or a smaller Marshall-style amp driven into gritty overdrive. The key is a clean-to-crunchy tone that responds to strumming dynamics: clean when you back off, gritty and aggressive when you dig in. There is not a lot of high-gain saturation in their classic sound.

Pickups

The bright, snappy tone of The Romantics' classic tracks points to single-coil pickups or low-to-medium output humbuckers. Single-coils in the bridge position deliver the trebly cut and clarity that defines 'What I Like About You.' If you are using humbuckers, keep the output moderate (around 7-8k ohms) to preserve note definition and dynamic response during aggressive strumming.

Effects & Chain

For the early Romantics sound, you need very little in the effects department. The debut-era tone is essentially guitar straight into a slightly overdriven amp. A touch of reverb (spring or room) adds depth without muddying the attack. For the 'In Heat' era, a chorus pedal (like a Boss CE-2 or similar analog chorus) becomes important for achieving the shimmery, wider tones on tracks like 'Talking in Your Sleep.' Overall, their approach is minimalist: tone comes from the guitar, the amp, and aggressive right-hand technique.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

The Romantics' bright, punchy debut sound relies on a Stratocaster's single-coil bridge pickup to deliver the cutting treble and snap needed for tracks like 'What I Like About You.' Its dynamic response lets Palmar and Skill shift from clean to aggressive tones with picking intensity alone.

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

A Telecaster's bridge single-coil gives The Romantics that jangly-yet-biting tone essential to their early new wave-punk fusion. The guitar's natural brightness cuts through the mix and responds perfectly to their aggressive strumming style.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

The Twin Reverb's warm breakup and built-in spring reverb capture The Romantics' signature sound of clean-to-crunchy tones that tighten up when pushed hard. Its American-voiced character defines their debut-era crunch without high-gain saturation.

Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

The Boss CE-2 Chorus adds the shimmery, widened texture crucial to The Romantics' 'In Heat' era tracks like 'Talking in Your Sleep,' while remaining transparent enough to preserve the raw energy of their playing.

How to Practice The Romantics on GuitarZone

Every The Romantics song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice What I Like About You - Guitar Lesson