Instrument
Guitar sheet music
121,357 titles in the index · page 1 of 200
Guitar is the one instrument where two entirely different notation systems compete for the same repertoire, and buying the wrong one is the most common mistake. Standard notation tells you which pitch; tablature tells you which fret. Classical guitar publishes almost exclusively in notation, popular guitar almost exclusively in tab, and a great deal of the catalogue carries both.
The listing below covers classical and fingerstyle guitar, chord songbooks, lead sheets and tab editions. Where an edition states its notation type we surface it on the result.
Find a title, then open its sheet music page to compare editions and arrangements. Instrument tags describe catalog listings; check the edition for its exact scoring.
Buying guide
What to know before you buy
Notation, tab, or both
Standard notation shows pitch and rhythm on a staff; guitar editions may add string and fingering indications. Tablature maps notes to strings and frets. Some tab includes rhythmic notation, while simpler formats rely on a recording or an accompanying staff. Notation plus tab presents the two together. Check the sample for the information you need.
A chord chart or lead sheet is neither: it gives lyrics with chord names above, and assumes you know the shapes and can invent a strumming pattern. It is the cheapest format and the least prescriptive. If you want to play a song at a campfire, that is the right purchase. If you want to play the recorded arrangement note for note, you need tab.
Classical guitar has different conventions
Classical editions notate on a single treble staff sounding an octave lower than written, with right-hand fingering marked p, i, m and a, left-hand fingers numbered 1 to 4, and strings circled. Position markers appear as Roman numerals. None of this appears in popular tab editions, and an edition that omits fingering entirely is a scholarly one rather than a cheap one.
The core repertoire — Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi, Tárrega, Villa-Lobos, and the Bach lute suites in transcription — is largely out of copyright, so free editions exist for much of it. The catch is that transcriptions differ significantly between editors, and a good modern edition of a Bach transcription is doing real interpretive work that a free scan may not.
Tunings and capo positions
Popular guitar arrangements frequently assume something other than standard tuning. Drop D, DADGAD, open G and half-step-down tunings all appear regularly, and an arrangement will be unplayable as written if you miss the note. Capo position is the same problem in reverse: many published arrangements place a capo to make the original key playable with open shapes, which changes every fingering on the page.
Both are usually stated at the top of the first page rather than in the shop listing, so it is worth checking the preview before buying if you have a strong preference.
Common questions
- Do I need to read music to play from guitar tab?
- No. Tab shows which string and fret to play as numbers on six lines, so it can be read with no knowledge of notation. What it does not reliably tell you is rhythm — most tab assumes you already know how the piece sounds.
- Is classical guitar music written in tab?
- Almost never. Classical guitar publishes in standard notation with fingering marks, and serious classical editions will not include tab at all. Tab is the norm for popular, rock and contemporary fingerstyle repertoire.
- What is the difference between a songbook and a tab edition?
- A chord songbook gives lyrics with chord names above them and expects you to supply the rhythm and voicings. A tab edition transcribes the actual recorded part note for note. Songbooks are cheaper and cover more songs per volume; tab editions let you reproduce the record.
- Can I find free guitar sheet music?
- Yes for the classical repertoire, which is largely out of copyright — the archives we index carry substantial collections of Sor, Carcassi, Tárrega and Bach transcriptions. Popular songs remain in copyright and free tab sites for them are generally unlicensed.