Country sheet music

Chord chart, lead sheet, piano/vocal/guitar

A chord chart is lyrics with chord symbols over them and no notation at all. It assumes you know the tune. It is the cheapest option and, for a guitarist accompanying singing, often the only one you need.

A lead sheet adds the melody on a single stave with the chord symbols above. This is what a fake book contains, and it is the format that lets you learn a song you have not heard.

Piano/vocal/guitar — usually abbreviated PVG in listings — is a full piano arrangement with the vocal line and guitar chord boxes. It is the most expensive and the most complete, and it is more than a guitarist needs.

Capo, keys and the recording

Published country arrangements frequently print a song in a different key from the recording, because the recorded key was chosen for a specific singer and the printed key is chosen to be readable. If you are playing along with a record, expect to need a capo, and check whether the edition gives the capo position or the concert key.

Nashville number notation — chords written as scale degrees rather than letters — appears in some session-oriented publications. It transposes to any key instantly, which is the point, but it is unreadable unless you already know the system.

Traditional tunes are free; the songs are not

The old-time and traditional fiddle repertoire that country grew from is out of copyright, and large collections of it are legitimately free. So is anything published before roughly 1930.

The country songbook proper — everything from Hank Williams forward — is in copyright, and a site offering current Nashville hits at no cost is not licensed to. Guitar tab in particular circulates widely in unauthorised form.