Discover a vast collection of Guitar Music Scores right at your fingertips on guitarplayers.net. We offer over 1300 pieces of free guitar sheet music, meticulously typeset in both traditional notation and guitar TAB. Whether you are a beginner just starting your musical journey or an experienced guitarist seeking to expand your repertoire, our library provides printable PDFs accessible anytime, completely free of charge. Download and keep them, use them digitally on your laptop or tablet, or print them out – the choice is yours.
You’ll find a rich selection of classical music alongside popular tunes, all expertly written or arranged specifically for the guitar. To further enhance your learning experience, many pieces are accompanied by comprehensive video guitar lessons.
Read Guitar Sheet Music in Notation or TAB
For those already comfortable reading music, we offer the flexibility to download or print the notation separately from the TAB. This economical option avoids unnecessary printing of the full file and caters to musicians who prefer traditional scores.
Explore our extensive library, ranging from simple pieces perfect for beginners to advanced works for seasoned players. Utilize these guitar music scores to broaden your repertoire, delve deeper into the works of your favorite composers, or even use them as sight-reading exercises to sharpen your skills. Even working through a few notes or bars can be a valuable learning experience.
Simpler pieces are not just for beginners. More experienced guitarists can also benefit from them, using them to refine their phrasing, expression, and interpretation, focusing on the nuances of musicality.
Get the 30 Classical Guitar Favorites Book
Easy Guitar TABs and Guitar Chords
The versatility of the guitar is celebrated here. You can play these pieces on any guitar type – classical, acoustic, or electric. Our collection caters to your instrument preference.
If you’re searching for easy guitar TABs, you’ll find a dedicated section designed for beginner guitarists. TABs are an excellent tool for quickly learning and playing your favorite songs, and they also provide a fantastic entry point into the world of classical music. The TAB is conveniently printed directly beneath the musical notation, allowing you to visually understand the relationship between the two systems.
Many of our guitar music scores also include guitar chords. These chords open up opportunities for collaboration and improvisation. Accompany other musicians by strumming the chords while they play the melody, or explore finger-picking styles by breaking the chords into arpeggios.
Choose Guitar Sheet Music to Suit Your Level
Our collection of classical guitar music scores and guitar TABs is carefully curated to accommodate players of all skill levels.
Easy Guitar Songs
We boast a significant selection of easy guitar music scores, specifically categorized for beginner guitarists.
Within this section, you’ll discover famous anthems and beloved hymns, folk songs, holiday music, and a wealth of timeless classics spanning centuries. Much of this music has been originally composed by guitarists, ensuring it fits comfortably under the fingers. We also include transcriptions and arrangements of diverse instrumental music.
Many pieces in this easy section are readily playable in fingerstyle. Others might require a bit more dedicated practice, and that’s where our tutorial videos become invaluable.
Versions are provided in standard notation and guitar TABs, and many also include chord names above the staff notation, making them exceptionally user-friendly.
More Advanced Pieces
For the more experienced guitarist, a myriad of intermediate and advanced guitar music scores awaits in our collection.
These include substantial works frequently performed in concerts worldwide. A significant portion is written or arranged by guitarists specifically for the guitar. You’ll find pieces by the celebrated player-composers of the 19th-century European tradition, along with transcriptions of piano and lute music, and captivating airs from ballets and operas.
Due to the technical demands of these complex pieces, most are presented in standard music notation. However, some also include guitar tablature for reference. Crucially, many are supported by in-depth video lessons to guide you through the intricacies of these advanced works.
Famous Composers, Popular Music, and Themed Collections
Over centuries, the guitar has inspired a rich and diverse repertoire of classical pieces. Where once guitar music scores were scarce, we now have access to virtual libraries filled with musical treasures.
Masterworks from all musical eras
While some music from the past has been lost, many masterworks have endured. These are typically categorized chronologically into musical eras: Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Romantic.
We have organized our guitar music scores into these periods, allowing you to easily search by era if you have a particular period in mind.
Easy-on-the-eyes editions
Historically, many player-composers, particularly in the 19th century, created tutorial books brimming with studies, exercises, and charming pieces.
While facsimiles of these books are available online, our editions offer clean, modern notation and typefaces, significantly improving readability. Explore these at your own pace and enjoy a more comfortable reading experience.
Famous Guitar Composers
If you are looking for music by a specific composer, simply click on the ‘Collections by Composer, Period or Genre’ link. For instance, if you wish to play Giuliani, this method provides a more direct route than scrolling through general menus.
You’ll also find quick links to the works of renowned masters such as Francisco Tarrega and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Dedicated sections highlight giants of the 19th century, including Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Sor, and Ferdinand Carulli. Collections from more recent composers like Barrios are also featured.
Within these composer collections, you’ll even discover some duets. We’ve included YouTube recommendations to introduce you to fantastic guitar duos and inspire your collaborative playing.
Themed Collections
We are constantly expanding our library with themed collections. These are readily accessible in the “Collections…” tab.
Discover books of Christmas songs, Spanish guitar pieces, Celtic music, and hymn book collections, all ready for immediate download and enjoyment.
On ceremony!
Our popular section for wedding and ceremony music is another valuable resource.
Categorized by ability level, it includes many traditional favorites you would expect for such occasions, along with some delightful surprises. Explore our beautiful tremolo arrangements of Ave Maria and Spanish Romance.
Beneath the music links, you’ll find an article offering invaluable tips for performing at ceremonies. This advice covers preparation for the event and strategies for managing unexpected situations, ensuring you feel confident and prepared for any high-stakes performance.
30 Guitar Favorites
Our “30 Classical Guitar Favorites Book” remains a consistently popular choice. We present these enjoyable and accessible pieces in both notation and TAB.
Most are arranged as two-part or multi-part pieces, though some feature melody lines only.
Get the 30 Classical Guitar Favorites Book
Uncover an ancient piece by Richard the Lionheart. Learn to play American, English, and Spanish folk songs such as Home on the Range and The River is Wide. Explore dances and operatic preludes. Delve into studies by Sor and Aguado.
You’ll recognize famous melodies like Brahms’s Lullaby and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, along with well-known folk and traditional airs such as Amazing Grace, Greensleeves, and many more cherished tunes.
Click the gold button above to download this treasure trove of favorites and enrich your guitar music score collection.
Free Tutorials on Beginner Pieces
The final tab in our list leads you to a wealth of free video tutorials. These lessons focus on popular beginner pieces, many drawn from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Bridges guitar series.
Here, you’ll find hours of high-quality instruction, freely accessible whenever you wish. The videos demonstrate how to study your chosen piece in depth, analyzing the relationships between its sections and how they contribute to the whole. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of the music and clarifies any potential confusion.
The videos also provide numerous practice tips to help you thoroughly grasp the music you’re playing, including advanced interpretive techniques. These techniques range from shaping musical phrases to emphasizing different voices within a piece.
Make your music sing: Elevate your expressive playing
These skills are not exclusive to professional concert guitarists. They are methods that enrich your playing at any level, transforming a simple piece into an expressive form of communication that resonates with listeners.
To advanced players, much of this music might appear straightforward. However, when we examine these pieces closely, they become far more than simple ‘beginner’ tunes.
These videos highlight nuances that might otherwise be overlooked and equip you with the tools to practice bringing those nuances to life.
The result is that you can play these pieces to an exceptionally high standard, adding depth and artistry to your performance of any guitar music score.
Write Your Own Guitar Music
Feeling creative? Why not try composing your own pieces using our free blank sheet music paper? It’s available as an instant downloadable PDF, ready to print. Simply select the blank standard music staff paper or choose combinations of staff, chord grids, and TAB.
Music paper is incredibly versatile. You can use it to:
- Compose your own pieces in music notation for classical guitar, creating your own unique guitar music scores.
- Compose melodies and chord combinations for acoustic guitar songs, then add lyrics.
- Label chord grids and add fingerings as helpful reminders.
- Write out pieces you are currently learning (an excellent method for memorization and general memory improvement).
- Practice music theory by writing and counting rhythms, or explore harmony theory by writing down chords.
- Even use it as stylish note paper or wrapping paper – those iconic horizontal lines will surely impress your musically inclined friends!
Should I Read TAB or Standard Notation?
Guitarists commonly use two systems for reading guitar music scores: Tablature (TAB) and standard notation.
What is TAB
Tablature is a notation system specifically designed for guitar. It uses six lines representing the guitar strings, with numbers on each line indicating the fret to be played.
TAB’s visual representation of the fretboard makes it easy to learn, even without prior knowledge of notes or music theory. However, TAB typically lacks precise rhythmic notation, often requiring players to rely on listening to recordings to understand timing.
What is notation?
Standard notation uses a five-line staff to represent both pitch and rhythm. This is a universal language understood by musicians across all instruments.
Who uses what?
TAB is popular in genres like rock and pop, where rapid learning is often prioritized. Its straightforward visual layout is particularly beneficial for beginners.
Standard notation is generally preferred for complex compositions, offering rhythmic precision and including dynamics, articulation, and other performance nuances essential for accurate interpretation of guitar music scores.
For those seeking a deeper understanding of music theory, standard notation is highly recommended. It also facilitates collaboration with musicians playing other instruments, as it is universally recognized and adaptable.
Benefits of reading guitar sheet music in notation
The ability to read guitar music scores in standard notation unlocks a vast world of musical possibilities.
While guitar TAB is undoubtedly helpful, especially for learning by ear and visualizing finger positions, mastering standard notation significantly enhances your musical capabilities.
Here are key benefits:
- Access to a vast library of compositions: Standard notation allows you to explore a wide range of musical genres, from classical masterpieces to contemporary pieces, expanding your access to diverse guitar music scores.
- Composer’s intent: It enables you to interpret pieces as the composer intended, capturing rhythmic precision, dynamics, tempo, and articulation details often lost in other notation forms.
- Enhanced musical understanding: Reading notation deepens your grasp of music theory, harmony, and composition, contributing to your overall musicianship and ability to analyze and understand guitar music scores.
Which is right for me?
Choosing between TAB and standard notation depends on your musical goals and preferred genres.
Tablature offers a faster learning curve and immediate practicality. Standard notation, while initially more challenging, provides a comprehensive musical education, particularly valuable for classical, jazz, and ensemble settings when working with complex guitar music scores.
Many guitarists adopt a hybrid approach, combining TAB with standard notation. This strategy combines the practicality of TAB with the deeper theoretical foundation of notation. This is why guitar music scores often present TAB directly beneath the standard staff.
Continuing to play pieces using TAB while concurrently learning to read music is a common and effective approach. Both systems offer unique advantages and contribute to a well-rounded musical education.
How to Practice Your Free Sheet Music
Downloading your chosen guitar music score is just the first step. The temptation to immediately start playing is strong, especially when eager to hear the music.
However, unless you are specifically practicing sight-reading, a more methodical and patient approach is crucial for effective learning. Success comes from structured practice.
Here’s how to maximize your practice with our free guitar music:
The process of learning classical guitar pieces
These seven steps will guide you in learning pieces effectively and efficiently, ensuring you get the most out of your guitar music score.
(For a more detailed explanation of this process, download our free ebook Learn Any Piece in 7 Easy Steps from the link above.)
- Make Small Sections: Divide the piece into manageable sections that sound musically complete, often crossing over bar lines.
- Know all the notes and musical markings: Identify and understand every note, symbol, and musical instruction within the section.
- Clap and count the rhythm aloud: Internalize the rhythmic structure of the section by clapping and counting it aloud.
- Play the right hand alone: Practice the right-hand part in isolation to develop finger independence and accuracy.
- Play the left hand alone: Practice the left-hand part separately, paying attention to fingerings, shifts, and note durations.
- Play hands together using corrective pauses: Combine hands slowly, pausing to correct any errors in fingerings or rhythm.
- Play hands together in rhythm: Gradually increase the tempo to the intended speed, maintaining accuracy and a steady pulse.
Practice Tips
The 7 Steps process is invaluable for initially learning a piece. Once you are comfortable with the basics, these additional practice tips will further enhance your progress with any guitar music score.
- Master the piece at a steady tempo before introducing rubato or tempo variations.
- If you encounter a challenging passage, clearly identify the specific problem aloud.
- Strive to memorize every piece, even if you don’t fully achieve memorization, the process accelerates learning.
- Approach each repetition with a specific purpose, avoiding autopilot practice.
- Video record your practice sessions for performance analysis and to identify areas for improvement.
Usage Rules, Copyrights, and Legalities
Music teachers are granted full permission to use these guitar music scores free of charge with their students. The guitar Christmas music collection is particularly enjoyable and educational for students, featuring familiar melodies like Jingle Bells and Silent Night.
From us to you – with our goodwill
All pieces in our collection are in the public domain.
While these specific arrangements are copyrighted, you are welcome to play and share them freely in the spirit of goodwill and non-commercial use.
If you choose to share or perform these arrangements, please credit Allen Mathews or ClassicalGuitarShed.com.
Please note: you may not find sheet music or guitar tabs for certain contemporary acoustic guitar songs due to copyright restrictions on popular songs.
For example, we cannot offer music by Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, The Beatles, or Willie Nelson, nor guitar solos by artists like Steve Vai. However, you will find a wealth of timeless classics that continue to inspire guitarists today, providing a rich resource for guitar music scores.
Download Guitar Sheet Music PDFs and Play Like the Wind
Enjoy our extensive collection of free PDF guitar music scores in both music notation and guitar tablature. Bookmark this page to easily return and explore our ever-growing library.
Have fun discovering new music and enhancing your guitar playing journey!
