There’s never been a better time to become a self-taught classical guitarist. From beginner classical guitar books to online classical guitar lessons, there’s an almost overwhelming amount of material to help you get started. This page keeps a running list of the best classical guitar books for beginners and pros.
Although many of the books below are suitable for complete beginners, some classical guitar methods assume basic guitar skills or the ability to read music. If you have no previous training, consider starting with a general guitar method book for beginners that teaches the very fundamentals, including how to tune and hold a guitar.
A beginner music theory book can also be helpful in learning how to read music and developing a better understanding of chords.
If you’re a visual or hands-on learner, interactive online guitar lessons for beginners can also help accelerate your progress. Some websites and apps that offer online classical guitar lessons include:
There are also classical guitar DVDs for beginners.
Classical guitar obviously has a rich history and repertoire, and the methods listed below include the renowned methods of the early masters as well as the best modern classical guitar books for self teaching. All have been selected based on their many positive reviews on Reddit and Amazon and in online classical guitar communities.
In this post (click on the links below to jump to that part of the article):
- Best beginner classical guitar method books for self teaching
- Best classical guitar books for advancing beginners and intermediate to advanced players
- Other popular classical guitar books and methods
- Can you teach yourself classical guitar?
Now here are some of the best classical guitar books and methods for beginners and pros.
Best beginner classical guitar method books for self teaching
The following modern methods are some of the best books to learn classical guitar by yourself (or with a teacher).
The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method, Volume 1
Author: Christopher Parkening
Length: 112 pages
Other books in this series:
The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method, Volume 2
Created by contemporary classical guitar legend Christopher Parkening, this two-volume series is a highly popular modern-day method for classical guitar. Volume 1 is geared toward players with little to no guitar experience. It starts with the fundamentals, including parts of the guitar, holding and tuning the guitar, how to read music, and hand positioning.
It then builds on classical guitar technique step-by-step through a mixture of exercises and over 50 classical pieces. The book also covers basic music theory concepts like scales, the circle of 5ths, major keys and relative minors, and transposition.
With hundreds of five-star reviews on Amazon, this book is up there as one of the best classical guitar books for beginners.
The Hal Leonard Classical Guitar Method: A Beginner’s Guide with Step-by-Step Instruction and Over 25 Pieces to Study and Play (Book and Online Audio)
Author: Paul Henry
Length: 80 pages
If you’re a beginner guitarist looking for a simple and concise introduction to classical guitar, the Hal Leonard Classical Guitar Method is a good choice. As you progress through a series of graduated exercises, you’ll also learn classical pieces by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Giuliani, Carcassi, Bathioli, Aguado, Tarrega, Purcell, and others.
The Hal Leonard Classical Guitar Method book has companion audio that you can access online using the code in the book. The tempo adjustment and looping features make it easy to practice along with the audio.
Since the classical style of music favors standard notation, this book does not include tablature. However, it does offer a brief introduction to standard music notation and notes in first position. (If this is your first time picking up a guitar, the general Hal Leonard Guitar Method makes a good companion to this book, as it will take you through the basics in more depth.)
Note: There is a companion songbook available for the Hal Leonard Classical Guitar Method that contains 24 classical pieces for solo guitar arranged in standard music notation.
I have several Hal Leonard guitar method books, and they all move at an easy pace and don’t contain an overwhelming amount of information.
Solo Guitar Playing, Book 1
Author: Frederick Noad
Length: 180 pages
Other books in this series:
Solo Guitar Playing, Book 2
If you’re looking for a modern classical guitar method, this is one of the most popular ones there is. Author Frederick Noad (1929-2001) was a respected classical guitarist, educator, and a founder of the Guitar Foundation of America.
The book is well organized, with simple instructions and a wealth of photographs and diagrams. It guides you through every aspect of classical guitar through over 200 pleasant-sounding exercises and repertoire selections, beginning with easy melodies.
The consensus among Amazon reviewers is that this book is an excellent self-teaching tool, even for complete beginners without previous experience playing guitar or reading music.
A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar, Book 1
Author: Charles Duncan
Length: 64 pages
Other books in this series:
A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar, Book 2
A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar, Book 3
This modern method, written by classical guitarist Charles Duncan, is suitable for beginner guitarists of all ages. Book 1 will teach you how to read standard music notation, play in open position, play melodies with bass accompaniment, and more.
Reviewers on Amazon say this book is good for self teaching and motivates them to practice. It progresses at a gentle pace and includes many pieces that have been selected to train students to use their fingers properly.
You can purchase all three method books as a set with three CDs.
Classic Guitar Technique, Volume 1 (Book and Online Audio)
Authors: Aaron Shearer, Thomas Kikta
Length: 120 pages
Other books in this series:
Classic Guitar Technique, Volume 2
Another classical guitar method widely used both by guitar teachers and self learners, the Shearer series takes students from beginner through advanced classical guitar technique. It starts with the very basics, such as choosing a classical guitar, maintaining your instrument, and caring for your fingernails. The online audio includes demo and playalong tracks.
There are three supplemental books available in this series that contain further developmental exercises, music theory concepts for guitar, and scale pattern studies.
Note: There is also a newer Shearer guitar method consisting of four books; however, the older method is still used by many teachers and students, so I’ve included it here.
Mel Bay Complete Method for Classic Guitar (Book and Online Audio)
Author: Mel Bay
Length: 144 pages
Mel Bay is a leading publisher of educational books for musicians, and this book is their own modern method for learning classical guitar.
The Mel Bay method contains many etudes written for classical guitar by masters like Aguado, Bach, Carcassi, Carulli, Diabelli, Giuliani, and Sor. Additionally, Mel Bay has arranged works for guitar by transcribing the works of Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Mozart, Pleyel, Rubenstein, and others. The companion audio is accessible online.
Reviewers on Amazon describe this book as more beginner friendly than some other methods, such as Carcassi. It progresses slowly through a series of studies and pieces, with notes being introduced one string at a time, instead of starting off using all the notes in first position. You’ll learn how to read standard notation, a necessary skill for any classical guitarist.
Best classical guitar books for advancing beginners and intermediate to advanced players
The following methods and technique books are some of the best books to learn classical guitar if you’re an intermediate to advanced player, or a beginner who wants to be challenged.
Pumping Nylon: The Classical Guitarist’s Technique Handbook (Book and Online Audio)
Authors: Scott Tennant
Length: 144 pages
Unlike many of the other books in this list, Pumping Nylon is not intended to be a classical guitar method book. Instead, author and world-class guitarist Scott Tennant describes it as a “reference book or technique manual” designed to improve your “accuracy, precision, control, synchronization, speed, focus and stamina.”
With hundreds of positive reviews on Amazon, the book has proven itself a favorite not only of classical guitarists, but also players of other styles. The technical skills taught in the book are transferable to all kinds of music.
The core of Pumping Nylon is a daily warmup routine with exercises designed to improve your technical ability. The book also contains Giuliani’s right-hand and left-hand studies, as well as musical examples by Bach, Turina, Rodrigo, and others. There are complete chapters on flamenco techniques, tremolo, scales, and arpeggios.
Pumping Nylon is a great choice if you’re an intermediate player looking to freshen up your practice routine, or if you feel your guitar skills have plateaued. Note that the book doesn’t contain tab, so you’ll need to be familiar with standard music notation, or willing to learn.
The Bible of Classical Guitar Technique
Author: Hubert Kappel
This book, authored by contemporary German classical guitarist Hubert Kappel, is a compendium of technical studies in classical guitar, including scales, arpeggios, and slurs. It contains a huge variety of exercises to freshen up your daily practice routine. If you regularly practice the exercises in the book, you’ll find other pieces easier to play.
Guitarists of all musical styles can benefit from the technical skills taught in this book; however, some reviewers say the book is more suited to intermediate to advanced players.
Twenty Studies for the Guitar
Author: Fernando Sor (edited by Andres Segovia)
Length: 32 pages
These 20 studies for classical guitar were written by Fernando Sor (1778-1839), a Spanish classical guitarist, prolific composer, and contemporary of Beethoven; and compiled and edited by renowned classical guitarist Andres Segovia. Reviewers note that the book does not follow a graded progression and is best suited to intermediate and advanced players who want to achieve proficiency in classical guitar.
The studies, mostly short, are challenging and beautiful. Each study includes an audio track which is accessible online. The musical notation includes suggested fingerings, articulation, dynamics, and tempo. The book does not contain tablature.
Many classical guitar teachers and students credit Sor as having the greatest impact on their playing. One reviewer notes that if you can master this compilation, you can play anything.
The Complete Carcassi Guitar Method (English and Spanish Edition)
Publisher: Mel Bay (edited by Joseph Castle)
Length: 112 pages
This is the original classical guitar method by Italian virtuoso guitarist, teacher, and composer Matteo Carcassi (1792-1853), edited by Mel Bay Publications. Although far from a modern method, the book is still widely used among classical guitar instructors. It includes explanations of various classical guitar concepts, as well as scales, exercises, compositions, and Carcassi’s famous “25 Studies.”
Mel Bay has attempted to organize the content in a logical order, from easiest to most challenging. The book includes revised fingerings and is written in standard notation only.
Carcassi wrote about his method, “I can assert that any intelligent person who will attentively study this book from beginning to end will acquire a perfect knowledge of the mechanism of the guitar.”
Beginners with no experience reading music may find this book challenging.
Other popular classical guitar books and methods
Listed below are several other notable classical guitar composers and their works.
- Mauro Giuliani. See especially his studies for right-hand development and arpeggio studies.
- Julio Sagreras. This classic six-volume series, published by Mel Bay, is an introduction to classical and Latin American guitar music.
- Heitor Villa-Lobos. His etudes and preludes are highly regarded in the classical guitar repertory.
- Emilio Pujol. Guitar School is a method for guitar Pujol created based on the principles of Francisco Tarrega.
- Pepe Romero. La Guitarra is a comprehensive guide to classical guitar technique.
- Dionisio Aguado. Author of the popular New Guitar Method.
- Ferdinando Carulli. His Complete Method for Guitar is still used by many classical guitar teachers.
- Leo Brouwer. The guitar works of Brouwer are a compilation of Cuban traditional music as well as Afro-Cuban and European avant-garde styles.
- Abel Carlevaro. His 20 short microstudies, progressing in difficulty, run the gamut of guitar technique.
Can you teach yourself classical guitar?
You can absolutely teach yourself how to read classical guitar music, play chords and melodies, and continually expand your classical guitar repertoire, and a good classical guitar method book can help you get there faster.
However, it can be difficult to learn the finer points of classical guitar, such as proper form, without receiving feedback from a teacher or at least watching a classical guitar player demonstrate proper posture and technique. Taking at least a couple of lessons from an expert can boost your confidence if you’re already doing the right thing or get you on track if you’re doing it wrong.
Since the start of the pandemic, many guitar teachers are offering classical guitar lessons on Zoom and Skype. There are also sites like ArtistWorks where you can exchange videos with a classical guitar instructor and receive feedback on your technique.
If you’re not ready for one-on-one lessons, consider working through an interactive beginner video method in classical guitar to learn essentials like achieving good posture, tone, and hand positioning.
Did I miss any of the best classical guitar books for beginners and pros? Let me know in the comments!