So when it comes to sheet music, we try to find the free options first. Sometimes this means finding a facsimile or getting someone’s arrangement. Either way, if the piece you’re looking for is in the public domain, it’s probably online.

Here are some places to start your search.

1. The Boije Collection

The Boije Collection is hosted by the Music Library of Sweden. It’s an entirely digitized (PDFs) of the late 19C century insurance salesman Carl Oscar Boije af Gennäs. After Boije died, his collection of printed editions and manuscripts was donated to the library.

This is my go to place to find any 19C guitar piece I’m working on.

2. The Classical Guitar School

ClassicalGuitarSchool.net (formerly “The Guitar School of Iceland”) is run by Eythor Thorlaksson and his son, Sveinn.

Unlike the Boije Collection, the pieces at Classical Guitar School are created by the Thorlakssons. They aren’t facsimiles or manuscripts. Most of the pieces here are your run of the mill standards: the typical concert pieces that get a lot of concert time.

3. The International Music Score Library Project

IMSLP is the most ambitious music digitization project online. It’s home to thousands of composers and (maybe) millions of scores.

There is a fair amount of guitar music here, but it’s usually my last stop to find guitar music. The system is a bit cumbersome, but you can find some real gems on IMSLP.

Related posts:

1. Your Local Library as a Music Resource

My Three Favorite Places to Get Free Guitar Sheet Music from Classical Guitar

I just did quick search of my Library’s listings. Starting with CDs (not complete, just a few notables):

1. Julian Bream- Spanish Guitar Music
2. Romeros- Essential Guitar
3. David Russell- Aire Latino

There’s also well over 100 method books, sheet music collections and books about guitar. That’s an amazing amount of stuff for a public library.

University Libraries

University libraries are an even better source of music and guitar books and sheet music. Most libraries have an extensive collection of sheet music. Of course this isn’t limited to guitar music, so if you’ve got the urge to arrange something, a local library may have the score. Sometimes other music makes great sight reading material as well. Collections of clarinet music work surprisingly well for sight reading as the clarinet and guitar share almost the same range on paper.

Most libraries will also have large collections of books about music. This includes composer biographies, books by composers, harmony texts, theory texts, method books. Many of the books about guitar I read in undergrad (including Charles Duncan’s Art of Classical Guitar Playing and the Shearer method books) were from my university’s library.

There’s also the opportunity to look at more expensive and rare books. Check your local college’s library policies. Mine allows community members (not affiliated with the university in any way) to get a so called courtesy card. Which gives people a three week check out and up to three items at a time.

Don’t overlook the library! It’s a great resource! Have you ever made a cool guitar-related find at the library?

Related posts:

1. Using Jazz to Expand your Repertoire

Your Local Library as a Music Resource from Classical Guitar