Guitar resources
List of Resources Needed to Create New Classes Including Materials and Supplies
Hirsh, Alan. “Building a School Guitar Ensemble Program.” Guitarensemblemusic.com, 2025. https://www.guitarensemblemusic.com/building-a-school-guitar-ensemble-program/.
This source, by Dr. Alan Hirsh, is useful for educators starting up a guitar ensemble. He lists reasons why guitar ensembles should be an essential part of school curricula, when to introduce small ensembles (vs large guitar class) into a program, equipment options, and guidelines for prerequisites. He also discusses classroom expectations and evaluations, tips for helping your ensemble sound good, and common setup diagrams for classroom practice and performance. Further, he suggests editing music selections with fingerings and string crossing indications to help them learn to play better and faster, with examples of none, bad, and good fingering markings. Dr. Hirsh gives guidance on song selection and arranging songs yourself for your ensemble. This is a very thorough and effective source. It is part of his larger website, which has some ensemble music, books, and supplements for purchase.
Literature on this topic for educators
Curriculum, Method Books, and Lesson plans structured around national music standards
Christiansen, Michael. “Courseware.” Consonus Music Institute, 2026. https://cmilearn.org/.
This resource is a guitar curriculum that follows a blended learning instruction method, integrating technology with traditional instruction (to include videos, audio files, and images). The curriculum follows a layered learning (or differentiated instruction) method, which presents alternate advanced versions of the skills that are taught in that particular lesson (for example, showing students several ways how to play a G chord). This differentiation is helpful in reaching both total beginners and advanced students in the same guitar class. This curriculum covers both classical and popular styles and includes 18 ensemble songs. There is a 60-day free trial to access materials before purchase. This curriculum is diverse, robust, methodical, and effective.
Forrest, Andrew. 2019. “Forrest Guitar Ensembles.” Forrest Guitar Ensembles, 2019. https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/.
Forrest Guitar Ensembles is an excellent resource for free classical guitar ensemble music of all levels. The music is graded by difficulty. Most of the music on this site are trios and quartets, but there are still a good amount of solos, duets, and even guitar orchestra arrangements. This website is out of England and the paper format for the files are A4 (which is slightly different from that mostly used in the US).
Palmer, Joseph. “Guitar Curriculum.” Austin Guitar School, 2025. https://www.guitarcurriculum.com/.
This resource includes over 250 graded classical guitar ensemble pieces, holistic lesson plans, exercises, scales and sight reading, and audio and video tutorial support. Subscribers have access to a team of experts who can provide assistance with teaching situations like adaptive techniques for special needs students and classroom management solutions. This resource comes highly recommended especially for newer teachers or teachers that are new to the guitar. The website offers a free 30-day trial to sample the curriculum. The ensemble music is high quality and one teacher reports that the students really love it because it integrates fun techniques like harmonics from the start. There is a method you can use or just use the ensemble library. The method books cover levels 1-8 and they also offer a separate elementary method book. The pieces often have a scope & sequence for those needing lesson plan guidance. The creators are affiliated with the Austin Guitar School out of Texas. They also offer guitar teacher conferences in Austin, TX & Columbia, NC each summer.
Hemmo, Philip. “Curriculum.” Squarespace, 2018. https://www.philiphemmo.com/.
Classical guitar teacher, composer and performer Philip Hemmo has created an open source guitar textbook and curriculum. A former University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University guitar faculty member, Hemmo has instructed students in all styles of guitar. His curriculum is used in over 1,500 US schools. The beginning guitar curriculum (curriculum map, weekly lesson plans with AZ standards, textbook, syllabus, and support videos) is completely free. The curriculum covers in depth posture, note reading, how to practice, and an overview of the instrument. He is thorough and the pictures/diagrams in the book are clear and useful. The curriculum teaches students notes, chords, basic exercises and short songs (some of which are in duet form). There are audio tracks as tutorial videos (previously available as CD tracks) that go along with every page of the book. To access all of the curriculum materials, email Philip at at philiphemmo@gmail.com and request to be added to the Google Drive
85 instructional videos created by Philip https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNuB84ATr0kpW9UI5_L_SlCKGmbAvFCFU&si=qMD1834DOXEXmxJD
Lead Guitar. “Homepage.” Guitarensemblemethod.com, 2026. https://guitarensemblemethod.com/.
This is a subscription-based method resource that one teacher thought most appropriate for middle school guitar students. It is an inclusive curriculum which provides most everything you need in one place. The curriculum covers notes and rhythms, chords, exercises, songs, ensemble pieces, and video tutorials. This resource would be very helpful for a non-guitar player teacher to facilitate guitar classes. The videos have instruction on difficult rhythmic, fingerings and string crossings, or playing techniques, as well as play-along videos with all the notes on the screen and a moving cursor. The curriculum can be purchased with or without hard-copy books and was created by both classical and pop guitar experts, trained in both guitar education and pop style guitar.
Music Will. “Guitar and Bass Archives.” Music Will JamZone, 2023. https://jamzone.musicwill.org/instrument/guitar/ and https://jamzone.musicwill.org/instrument/bass/
This resource is different from the other curriculums listed here, in that the goal is to make music sooner (reflecting a second language pedagogy- we speak, then we read and write). The Modern Band method, created by the organization Music Will, uses iconic notation to teach how to play chords, comping patterns, riffs, melodies and bass lines. There is a free 53-page Guitar Worksheet PDF with basic guitar information, tuning, chord diagrams, and a page with easy three string chords. It also includes information on tablature, power chords, and one finger chords to get students playing sooner. The end of this resource includes blank tablature and progression worksheets for students to complete. Music Will’s website offers guitar and bass lessons through more than 50 “skill builders” videos. They have dozens of charts for modern band instruments to help musicians learn songs. These charts are very clear, contemporary “lead sheets” with chords used in the song, a song map, often lyrics, iconic and some standard notation in a concise downloadable format. Some of the songs include drum tracks and videos of how to play the song. Music Will’s method focuses on aural fluency and does it through modern pop songs in a very effective way. All the resources mentioned above are free. There is a printed book that goes along with the other modern band instrument books, which is available for guitar https://a.co/d/05ONuIaC and bass https://a.co/d/05BFKQdh.
Thorlaksson, Eythor. “The Guitar School.” Icelandic Sheet Music Publishers Association, 2026. https://www.classical-guitar-school.com/.
This is a great resource for classical guitar music. Much of it is free. On this website, as of 2026, there are 3654 pages of classical guitar sheet music by 150+ authors. Eythor Thorlakkson, Icelandic guitarist, teacher, arranger and composer, has written many volumes of great ensemble music at all levels. There are downloadable methods, collections, methods, studies, solo guitar, duos, trios and quartets in PDF format. Many of these songs have recordings that you can listen to via digital devices. There is a wide variety of materials for many different ensemble sizes, and his music lends itself to the large and small ensembles.
Warde, Lou. 2026. “The Guitar Classroom.” The Guitar Classroom, 2026. https://www.theguitarclassroom.com/.
The site provides a free, downloadable guitar curriculum that includes method books covering beginning to advanced levels across popular-style guitar, classical guitar, and guitar ensemble studies. Teachers and students can access full PDF books and interactive eBook versions that include audio recordings of every exercise, song, and ensemble part, plus tutorial videos that support classroom instruction and student practice. The beginning curriculum integrates popular and classical styles with ensemble playing, sequencing skills logically from basic chords and rhythms to reading standard notation, which helps scaffold student learning in year-long classes. Beyond method books, the site offers original compositions and arrangements for guitar duets, trios, and quartets—these are really great for guitar ensemble classes! All materials on the site are provided gratis, making it cost-effective for schools and teachers with limited budgets; the organized layout also makes it easy to find curriculum, repertoire, and supplemental materials. This website comes highly recommended by multiple educators. Overall, The Guitar Classroom is a great resource because it combines comprehensive, sequenced curriculum, multi-media instructional support, ensemble repertoire, and no-cost access, all of which address the practical needs of middle and high school guitar teachers.
Werner, Bradford. “Free Classical Guitar Method Book (PDF).” This Is Classical Guitar, 2012. https://www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/free-classical-guitar-method-book-pdf/.
Canadian Bradford Werner offers a free resource as a PDF, Guitar Book 1, for classical guitar (102 pages). This book teaches beginner guitar skills with a focus on the pedagogical tradition of classical guitar. Most learning objectives are covered through pieces and duets with free video lessons allowing students to perform full pieces from the first lesson (scroll down on the page for the video lessons). This is the 2020 edition. Werner has 50 excellent videos that go with each lesson from the method book. He also has a supplement to the 1st method book and lots of solos that go with the various levels of beginner and intermediate. He offers a Method Book Volume Two for purchase to continue learning.
Videos
Bill Swick. “Guitarists in the Classroom- Episode 2- Alan Hirsh Interview with Jon Sayles.” YouTube, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi2E3lgUjdg.
Guitarists in the Classroom is a series of interviews with outstanding guitar teachers who teach guitar in secondary schools (middle school and/or high school) as a class. This series is hosted by Jon Sayles. This video’s guest educator is Dr. Alan Hirsh who recently retired from teaching 25 years at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville, NC. He runs the website at www.guitarensemblemusic.com.
Assessments
Music Team in EPS415. “General Music Rubrics.” University of Illinois, 2013. https://assessmusic.weebly.com/general-music-rubrics.html.
This source (one of five for various instruments, found as a free download for guitar chord progressions https://assessmusic.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/7/4/20749282/guitar_chord_progression_rubric_pdf.pdf and for guitar performance https://assessmusic.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/7/4/20749282/guitar_solo_performance_rubric_pdf.pdf) contains two rubrics for teachers to assess guitar playing. The progression rubric assesses chord changes, rhythm, and technique. The performance rubric assesses note accuracy, rhythm precision, student progress, and technique. Both rubrics have a possible 20 points. These rubrics are simple but effective. It would be easy to modify this rubric to fit your class needs. The source was collected by students in a college music class at the University of Illinois and all rubrics on this site are based off rubrics currently used in the field by in-service teachers.
Other Resources
Bruce, David. “Free Sheet Music.” 8notes.com, 2020. https://www.8notes.com/.
This source has sheet music for many instruments, including guitar solos, duets, trios, and ensembles. The PDF downloads include both tablature and standard notation on the same pages. The songs are categorized and organized by genres including classical, rock and pop, jazz, film, world, wedding, Christmas, children’s, Christian, and traditional. The aim of the site is to keep a large percentage of the site free (currently around 90%). Pieces are graded and organized by beginner, easy, intermediate and advanced levels. 8notes.com is run and owned by Red Balloon Technology Ltd, a music and technology company based in England. The site is run by composer David Bruce, who has Masters and Doctorate degrees in Composition. Many of the arrangements on the site are done by David, others are produced by a team of composer-freelancers who have worked for the site over the years. Copyright laws are observed from within the company and if you are performing in a competition you can tell the adjudicators that your music was obtained legitimately and in compliance with copyright laws.
Christiansen, Michael. “Recommended Listening for Guitar.” Consonus Music Institute, 2026. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lzu1MBQ7IrDaraBUuvJaEVxCMJbb4tWM/view?usp=drive_link.
This resource is a list of 77 recommended guitar compositions and/or solos for listening. One possible use of this list would be for teachers to play recordings of these pieces in class. Michael Christiansen, author of The Consonous Music Institute Curriculum, compiled this list and acknowledges that while it is not all-inclusive, these are amazing guitar works and will give students a sample of what the guitar and guitar players can do. The lists are categorized by genre and include classical, flamenco, steel string acoustic, bluegrass, country, blues, rock, jazz, and Brazilian style guitar. The very fact that there are so many genre categories is a testament to what a wonderful instrument the guitar is and how it is capable of crossing into borderless genres. Christiansen encourages teachers to play a variety of styles for their classes regardless of the student’s preference on genre. This is an excellent resource especially for non-guitarist teachers who are not as familiar with excellent guitar repertoire but want to educate their students well.
Mathews, Allen. “Free Lessons and Resources.” Classical Guitar Shed, 2024. https://classicalguitarshed.com/cgs-archives/.
Guitar Shed is a resource designed to help guitarists play beautifully in whatever style they love, by focusing on core techniques and musical concepts in the classical style. Author Allen Mathews gives reasons why studying classically will improve all other styles of playing. The website offers an online video curriculum for paid subscriptions to improve solo playing. There are also many ensemble/classroom ideas and free resources to improve specific concepts like speed, strumming, tone, strength, and ornaments/trills. This is a good resource for educators to supplement class curriculums and point students towards a curricula they could use at home that costs a little less than monthly private lessons.
Ultimate Guitar. “1,100,000 Songs Catalog with Free Chords, Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Ukulele Chords and Guitar pro Tabs.” Ultimate Guitar Tabs, 2019. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/.
Many guitar teachers agree that this source is essential to have when teaching a guitar class. It is useful for looking up song lyrics and chords, as they have a large quanitity of these available. It is especially useful for classes working on song accompanying and song writing units. It has a subscription that is worth paying for, which allows access to higher quality arrangements of songs, and also makes printing and transposing the lead sheets easier. Some songs have many different levels of guitar chord progressions in different keys and some have riffs that go with them.