Guitar Music for Free

This page provides resources and guidance for beginner guitar and bass players and their tutors. Musical notation is emphasised, there are lots of backtracks you can use on line and links to pdf music and to free music I have uploaded to www.sibeliusmusic.com.

To print music from the Sibelius site you will need Scorch which is a safe active X application. It allows you to download and print on paper. It does not allow you to print pdf copies via Acrobat Distiller or similar programmes. This is to protect the copyrights of composers and arrangers on the sibelius site. If you would rather not do this, then use the pdf files where provided and by all means use the backtracks.

Here you will find a set of simple group arrangements. Many of these are in pdf format. You could play each part along with the pdf on my site or print them off to play with friends. Teachers might find these a useful beginners resource.

So, what's the catch? None - you can use all these arrangements with pleasure. My hope is that you enjoy them firstly, but secondly, and quite honestly, if you do you might just consider buying one of my books to try some more of my folk song or carol arrangements. And if you don't want to see more? Well, that is fine too! Just have some fun!

You need chords to rock. Every moveable chord you learn is worth twelve open chords if you also learn the names. Sometimes that familiar shape you already know involves a little too much fretboard jumping - here you will find alternatives that work all over the fretboard!

The aim of this page?

Everything you need to know about power chords, barre chords and other moveable shapes. Starting with the three (yes, there are three!) best known regular power chord shapes and incorporating useful fretboard charts to identify chords, this page moves through moveable 4 string major and minor, full barre chord major and minor, major 7th, minor 7th and dominant 7th shapes. A bonus is, these are the regular shapes used in RGT exams to grade 4 level. A useful reference for rhythm players who want moveable shapes, alternative shapes, or simply just to know what they are actually playing!

Rhythm practice for beginner guitar and bass players. Musical notation emphasised plus backtrack to practise with.

On this page you will see lots of open chord shapes which you are welcome to save and print out with credit to the site. Please don't copy to other websites though, because that is bandwidth theft and bandwidth is not infinite. Also, if I revise the shapes for readability or neatness (as I do on occasion) you will get big red x's all over the page!


These are the most common guitar chords, they are represented in RGT Initial, grade 1 and grade 2. Learn them with note names and you can inpress your examiner! They are all open chords which means they are suitable for beginners and I frequently add to them. There are some non-exam "oddities" and if you are serious you will have your own RGT books and know which chords these are. The sus2 and sus4 chords are examples. They really brighten your playing and give some songs their trademark sound (Summer of 69 is one well known example).

Classical guitarists should also learn chords. You might not strum them very often unless you also play contemporary styles or flamenco but 95% of the classical guitar repertoire contains recognizable everyday chords. If you can see them in the music your sight reading will benefit enormously!

Provides resources and guidance for beginner guitar and bass players and their tutors. Musical notation emphasised, lots of backtracks and links.

This page is suitable for the more advanced classical guitarist and, so far, contains pieces by Tarrega and Bach.