Free Classical Guitar Sheet Music and TABs

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Classical Guitar Sheet Music and TABs

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In the tabs above, you’ll find over 1300 pieces of free guitar sheet music. This is typeset in both notation and guitar TAB.

These guitar pieces are printable PDFs you can access for free anytime. Download and keep them, use them on your laptop or tablet, or print them off. It’s your choice.

You’ll find a wealth of classical music and popular tunes all written or arranged for the guitar. Many pieces also have comprehensive video guitar lessons attached.

Read Guitar Sheet Music in Notation or TAB

You can download or print off the notation separately from the TAB if you wish. This is useful for those who can already read music. It is more economical than printing out the whole file.

Choose from a huge library ranging from simple to advanced pieces. Use the music to expand your repertoire. You can explore more works by your favorite composers. Or play them as sight reading exercises. (Even if it’s only a few notes or a few bars.)

The simpler pieces are not only ideal for beginners. More experienced guitarists can use them too, to work on phrasing, expression and interpretation.

Get the 30 Classical Guitar Favorites Book

Easy Guitar TABs and Guitar Chords

You can play these pieces on classical guitar, acoustic guitar or electric guitar.

If you are looking for easy guitar TABs, you’ll find them in the first section above. TABs can help beginner guitarists quickly learn and play their favorite songs. But they are great for exploring the sounds of classical music too. The TAB is printed underneath the musical notation, so you can see how the two relate.

Many of the pieces also include guitar chords. Why not use these to accompany other musicians? Try strumming the chords while they play the melody. Or you could break the chords into a finger-picking style arpeggio.

Choose Guitar Sheet Music to Suit Your Level

You’ll find classical guitar sheet music and guitar TABs to suit all levels in this collection.

Easy guitar songs

We have a huge selection of easy guitar sheet music. This is categorized to suit beginner guitarists.

You’ll find famous anthems and popular hymns. Folk songs and holiday music. And a wealth of classics from across the centuries. Much of it has been written by guitarists, so it sits well under the fingers. But there are transcriptions and arrangements of all kinds of instrumental music.

There are many pieces here you’ll be able to quickly pick up and play in fingerstyle. Others may need a bit more time and practice. This is where the tutorial videos come in.

Versions are offered in standard notation and guitar TABs, and many have chord names above the staff notation.

More advanced pieces

There is a myriad of intermediate and advanced pieces in the collection.

Many of these are substantial works, performed in concerts all over the world. Much of it has been written or arranged by guitarists for guitarists. And you’ll find pieces by the great player-composers of the C19th European tradition. There are also transcriptions of piano and lute music, and airs from ballets and operas.

Because of the level of skill required to play these complex pieces, most are written in standard music notation. However, some do also include guitar tablature. Many have in-depth video lessons attached.

Famous Composers, Popular Music, and Themed Collections

Over the last few centuries, the world has gained a rich collection of classical pieces written for the guitar. Where once guitar sheet music was rare, we now have virtual libraries at our fingertips.

Masterworks from all musical eras

Much of the music from the past is lost in obscurity. But many masterworks have survived. These are usually grouped chronologically into musical eras. These are called the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods.

We’ve arranged our guitar sheet music into these groups if you want to search by era.

Easy-on-the-eyes editions

Many player-composers wrote tutorial books, particularly in the 19th century. These contain a wealth of studies, exercises, and charming pieces.

Many of these are available in facsimile on the internet. But you’ll find the clean, modern notation and typefaces here much easier to read. Work through them at your leisure.

Famous guitar composers

If you’re looking for music by a specific composer, click on the ‘Collections by Composer, Period or Genre’ link. Say, for example, you fancy playing a bit of Giuliani. This is an easier way of finding him than by scrolling through the other menus.

You’ll also find shortcuts to the works of well-known masters like Francisco Tarrega and Johann Sebastian Bach.

There are separate sections for some of the giants of the C19th. This includes the likes of Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Sor and Ferdinand Carulli. There are also collections by more recent composers such as Barrios.

You’ll find some duets in that section too. We’ve added some YouTube recommendations for you to enjoy. There are some fantastic guitar duos out there!

Themed collections

We’re adding themed collections to our library all the time.  You can find these in the "Collections..." tab above.

You’ll find books of Christmas songs and Spanish guitar pieces. Celtic music and hymn book collections are ready to download and play.

On ceremony!

There’s also a popular section for wedding and ceremony music.

It’s categorized by ability level and includes many of the traditional favorites you might expect. There are also some surprises. Check out the lovely tremolo arrangements of Ave Maria and Spanish Romance.

Beneath the links, there’s an article offering invaluable tips on playing at ceremonies. There’s advice on how to prepare for the big day, and how to cope with the unexpected. So if you’re asked to play at a high-stakes gig, you’ll be confident, prepared, and at your best.

30 Guitar Favorites

Our 30 Classical Guitar Favorites Book is a perennial winner. We’ve presented these fun and easy(ish) pieces in notation and tab.

Most are written as two or more part pieces, although some consist of melody only.

Get the 30 Classical Guitar Favorites Book

Discover an ancient piece by Richard the Lionheart. Enjoy learning how to play American, English and Spanish folk songs like Home on the Range and The River is Wide. Discover dances and operatic preludes. Delve into studies by Sor and Aguado,

You’ll spot famous tunes like Brahms’s Lullaby and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. And well-known folk and traditional airs like Amazing Grace, Greensleeves and many more.

Click on the gold button above to download this treasury of favorites.

Free Tutorials on Beginner Pieces

The last tab in the list contains a host of free video tutorials. These are lessons on popular beginner pieces. Many of the works are from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Bridges guitar series.

Here you’ll find hours of quality instruction, accessible for free anytime you choose. The videos show how to study your chosen piece in depth. They explore how to analyze the relationships between parts of the piece, and how they all fit together. This helps us to understand the music and eliminate any confusion.

The videos also offer a wealth of practice tips to help us gain a deep understanding of the music we’re playing. This includes high-level interpretive techniques. These range from shaping a phrase to bringing out emphasis in different voices.

Make your music sing: Elevate your expressive playing

These are not skills used solely by professional concert guitarists. They are methods that enrich our playing at any level. They lift a simple piece into an expressive communication. It’s what an audience craves.

To advanced, experienced players, much of this music might appear straightforward. But when we study these pieces in depth, they become anything but easy ‘beginner’ tunes.

These videos draw our attention to so much that might be overlooked. And they provide us with the tools to practice bringing out those nuances.

The result is that we play them to a very high standard.

Write Your Own Guitar Music

Feeling creative? Why not try writing down your own compositions with our free blank sheet music paper? It comes as an instant downloadable PDF, ready to print off. Simply select the blank standard music staff (or stave) paper. Or you can choose combinations of staff, chord grids and TAB.

You can use music paper in all sorts of ways. For example:

  • Compose your own pieces in music notation for classical guitar

  • Compose your own melody and chord combinations. Then add lyrics for acoustic guitar songs

  • Label chord grids and add fingerings to use as reminders

  • Write out the pieces you’re currently playing. (This is one of the great ways to memorize a piece and improve your memory in general at the same time.)

  • Practice music theory - writing and counting rhythms. Or write down chords and explore harmony theory

  • Use it as stylish note paper or wrapping paper! Those iconic horizontal lines! Your friends will feel they’ve entered your ‘creative’ world!

Should I Read TAB or Standard Notation?

Guitarists commonly read music through two systems: Tablature (TAB) and standard notation.

What is TAB

Tablature is a guitar-specific notation. It uses six lines to represent the guitar strings. Numbers on each line indicate the frets to be played.

This setup makes TAB easy to learn. It mirrors the guitar’s fretboard and doesn’t need knowledge of notes or music theory. However, TAB lacks precise rhythmic notation. This means players often rely on listening to recordings to understand timing.

What is notation?

Standard notation uses a five-line staff that shows both pitch and rhythm. This is a universal language that musicians of all instruments can read.

Who uses what?

TAB is popular for genres like rock and pop where learning quickly may be prioritized. Its straightforward visual layout is especially useful for beginners.

Those interested in playing complex compositions may find standard notation more suitable. It offers rhythmic precision and includes dynamics, articulation, and other performance nuances.

If you want a deeper understanding of music theory it might be best to choose standard notation. If you wish to collaborate with other instrumentalists, then notation works best here too. This is because it’s universally recognized and adaptable.

Benefits of reading guitar sheet music in notation

If we can read guitar sheet music, we’ll discover a whole new world of musical possibilities.

Of course, guitar TABs show finger positions on the fretboard. Many players rely on tablature and it’s extremely helpful, especially if we are learning by ear.

But the ability to read standard notation can elevate our playing. For example:

  1. It allows us to access a vast library of compositions. These stretch across various genres, from classical masterpieces to contemporary hits.

  2. It enables players to interpret pieces as the composer intended. It captures details that might be lost in other forms of notation. These include rhythm, dynamics and tempo.

  3. It enhances our grasp of music theory, harmony, and composition. This contributes to overall musicianship.

Which is right for me?

In choosing between the two, consider your musical goals and genre.

Tablature allows for faster learning and is practical. Standard notation, though harder to master, provides a well-rounded musical education. It is especially valuable for classical, jazz, and ensemble settings.

Many guitarists use a hybrid approach. They combine TAB with standard notation. This combines TAB’s practicality with a deeper theoretical foundation. This is why guitar TAB is often written underneath a standard staff, as in this free guitar sheet music.

Many guitarists also continue to play pieces by TAB whilst they are learning to read music. Both systems have unique strengths.

How to Practice Your Free Sheet Music

Downloading our chosen music is just the start. We’ll feel a huge temptation to jump straight in and start playing. After all, we want to hear it.

But unless we are testing our sight-reading, this isn’t the best way of approaching a new piece. Success comes through methodical, patient practice.

Here’s how to make the most of this free guitar music:

The process of learning classical guitar pieces

These seven steps will help you learn these pieces effectively and efficiently.

(For more on this process, download the free ebook Learn Any Piece in 7 Easy Steps from the link above.)

  1. Make Small Sections: Choose sections that sound complete. (Cross over the bar line.)

  2. Know all the notes and musical markings: Look up anything you don’t know.

  3. Clap and count the rhythm aloud: See how different rhythms fit together.

  4. Play the right hand alone: It won’t sound good, but it’s worth its weight in gold!

  5. Play the left hand alone: Notice any hops, slides or shifts. Watch out for the note durations.

  6. Play hands together using corrective pauses: This is when we stop and suspend the pulse. It’s to avoid practicing the wrong fingerings.

  7. Play hands together in rhythm: Keep the pulse slow and sure at first.

Practice Tips

The 7 Steps process is invaluable for getting to grips with a piece. Once we’re up and running, here are some more practice tips we can use.

  • Before slowing down or speeding up (adding ‘rubato’) master it at a steady pace

  • If you find a tricky spot, state out loud exactly what the problem is.

  • Attempt to memorize every piece. (Even if you don’t memorize it, you’ll learn it faster.)

  • Have a purpose behind each repetition. (Watch out for autopilot.)

  • Video yourself for performance practice, and to hear what is working.

Usage Rules, Copyrights, and Legalities

If you are a music teacher, you have full permission to use the sheet music free of charge with your students. The guitar Christmas music is especially fun for students. (It contains famous melodies like Jingle Bells and Silent Night.)

From us to you - with our goodwill

All pieces listed are in the public domain.

These particular arrangements are under copyright. But you can play and share them as you wish, in goodwill and the absence of commerce.

If there is a place to do so, please credit Allen Mathews or ClassicalGuitarShed.com.

Note: you may not find sheet music or guitar tabs for certain acoustic guitar songs here. This is because of the legal copyrights on those popular songs.

For example, we cannot offer music by Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, The Beatles or Willie Nelson. Nor a guitar solo by Steve Vai. But you will find many classics of the ages that continue to inspire today.

Download Guitar Sheet Music PDFs and Play Like the Wind

Enjoy this collection of free PDFs in both music notation and guitar tablature. If you like, you can bookmark this page and come back again and again.

Have fun!