Free Guitar Sheet Music

That said, for classical pieces and pieces in the public domain, it is very possible to get a hold of free guitar sheet music. These pieces are normally short training pieces rather than full scores and are often available on guitar lesson websites. Sometimes sheet music can be found for old traditional folk songs, and this is an advantage for folk guitarists looking to accurately recreate their favorite songs from yesteryear. Whatever the artistic bent of the player or the genre desired, there are plenty of places to go to find the right music.

Where to Find Free Guitar Sheet Music

Sometimes it takes a bit of Internet searching to find the right sheet music. Unlike guitar tabs that have an abundance of resources available for almost any popular song imaginable, sheet music for popular music is a lot harder to find for free. It is more common to find sheet music for classical music from composers such as Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, and traditional music, such as American and Celtic folk music. There are several examples of websites on the Internet that provide such free samples:

• 8Notes.com: 8Notes has sheet music from many, many composers such as Bach, Debussy, Bartok and Schubert. There is also a wide variety of songs available from popular acts such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Radiohead and more. This website also features links to buy sheet music for more complete collections, as well as a biography on each artist.
• GuitarPress.com: GuitarPress has a wide selection of pieces in PDF format. The musical styles range from compositions by Albaniz through the usual Bach and Beethoven to Vivaldi. There are also sections on the website that deal with musical theory; this is helpful for learning to understand the science of music and why it has the effect it has on us.
• MusicaViva: This website features a comprehensive search function that allows you to search for sheet music by stringed instrument (banjo, mandocello, mandolin, etc.), composer, nationality and more. It also features four different formats for obtaining the music including PDF, GIF, ABC and Midi files to give an aural reference for the player.

There are plenty of resources for classical guitar music, particularly those pieces that are in the public domain. However, resources for modern copyrighted music are more sparse. For that type of music, it is usually more productive to purchase the sheet music from a publisher.

Using Sheet Music for Learning

Although tabs are the more widely popular and most-used method of learning how to play specific pieces of guitar music, sheet music for guitar has many added benefits and challenges that are not available through using tab:

• Sheet music requires the reader to understand the fundamentals of music theory.
• Sheet music helps the player develop sight-reading skills when playing.
• Sheet music doesn’t give as much detailed information on fingering, so a solid knowledge of the basics of left and right-hand operation is crucial.

If one was to look in the right places for the right kinds of music, there are many places to go to find guitar sheet music for free. This kind of music notation is probably more helpful for the serious student of classical guitar rather than the hobbyist looking to play modern music. However, the fact that it is available is a big advantage for all guitarists who want to learn to play guitar in a more formal fashion.