Guitar Formats Explained

On Sheet Music Direct, we have several different formats for guitarists of all levels and we're here to walk you through the different options available to help you decide which ones are right for you. We've even hand-picked some of our favorite titles for each arrangement type to help get you started.

Guitar Tab

Our most popular guitar transcription format—"note-for-note." Authentic transcriptions based on an actual recorded version. Features all guitars—shown in both standard notation and tab—plus lyrics, melody, vocal harmonies, and chord symbols.

Recommended Guitar Tabs:
Hotel California, Eagles
Cavatina (from The Deer Hunter), Stanley Myers
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zepplin
Blackbird, The Beatles
Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits

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Guitar Tab (Single Guitar)

Specifically designed for one guitarist to play a song from start-to-finish—these note-for-note, streamlined transcriptions feature one authentic guitar part—based on the actual recorded version—playing all of the key riffs and solos. Includes both standard notation and tab, vocals, and chord symbols.

Recommended Guitar Tab (Single Guitar) Titles:
Master of Puppets, Metallica
Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton
Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns N' Roses
The Boxer, Simon & Garfunkel
Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd

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Guitar Chords/Lyrics

These concise arrangements include chord diagrams, chord symbols, and complete lyrics.

Recommended Guitar Chords/Lyrics Titles:
Streets of London, Ralph McTell
Wonderwall, Oasis
Take It Easy, Eagles
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
Hotel California, Eagles

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Really Easy Guitar

These simple arrangements feature the song's main riffs and chords in a "basic" tab, and chord/lyric format. Includes chord diagrams, chord symbols, and lyrics.

Recommended Really Easy Guitar Titles:
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
Day Tripper, The Beatles
Shallow (from A Star Is Born), Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

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Solo Guitar

These fingerstyle arrangements are designed for the unaccompanied guitarist to play both melody and chords as one piece of music.

Recommended Solo Guitar Titles:
Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen
Canon in D, Johann Pachelbel
Stand By Me, Ben E. King
Classical Gas, Mason Williams
River Flows in You, Yiruma

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Guitar Lead (Cheat) Sheet

This arrangement format features the song's main riffs, patterns, and chords—using streamlined approaches such as rhythm tab, and chord/lyric presentation. Includes chord diagrams, chord symbols, and complete lyrics.

Recommended Guitar Lead Sheet Titles:
Vincent (Starry Starry Night), Don McLean
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
Dust in the Wind, Kansas
Ticket to Ride, The Beatles

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Guitar Ensemble

This format features an ensemble arrangement designed for three guitarists. Features melody along with two lower accompaniment parts. Includes standard notation and chord symbols.

Recommended Guitar Ensemble Titles:
He's A Pirate (from Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), Klaus Badelt
Air on the G String, J.S. Bach
Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles
The Pink Panther, Henry Mancini
Viva La Vida, Coldplay

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Easy Guitar Tab

This format combines chords, riffs, and melody into one unaccompanied arrangement. Includes standard notation and tab, chord symbols, and complete lyrics.

Recommended Easy Guitar Tab Titles:
Simple Man, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver
Shallow (from A Star Is Born), Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Perfect, Ed Sheeran
Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton

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Easy Guitar

This simple guitar, "lead sheet" format, includes chord symbols, standard notation, and complete lyrics.

Recommended Easy Guitar Titles:
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show
You Belong with Me, Taylor Swift
All of Me, John Legend
Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple

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Guitar Rhythm Tab

An abbreviated version of our guitar transcription format—"note-for-note." Authentic transcriptions based on an actual recorded version. Features all guitars, using streamlined approaches such as rhythm tab, and chord/lyric presentation.

Recommended Guitar Rhythm Tab Titles:
Perfect, Ed Sheeran
Suenos, Santana
Blackbird, The Beatles
Heart of Gold, Neil Young
Broken Halos, Chris Stapleton

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From the newest releases to award-winning bestsellers and everything in between, Sheet Music Direct provides accurate, affordable arrangements for all your favorite songs available to download and play instantly. Powered by Hal Leonard, the world's largest sheet music publisher.