Best Classical Guitar Sheet Music for Intermediate Level
Reaching an intermediate level on the classical guitar — broadly Grade 5 to Grade 7 on standard grading scales — means you have the technical foundation to access one of the richest repertoire traditions in all of Western music. The question is no longer whether you can play a piece, but which pieces will move your playing forward most effectively. This guide presents graded repertoire recommendations, reliable free and paid sources for sheet music, and a structured approach to studying new pieces at the intermediate stage.
What "Intermediate" Means in Classical Guitar Terms
Grading systems vary between examination boards and countries, but the intermediate range on classical guitar is consistently associated with Grade 5 through Grade 7 in systems such as ABRSM, Trinity, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. At this level, a player can read standard notation fluently, execute basic left-hand position shifts, produce a consistent tone with both free and rest stroke, and navigate simple slur passages and arpeggios.
What distinguishes intermediate from beginner work is the introduction of more demanding right-hand independence — for example, simultaneous melodic lines over a moving bass — combined with left-hand stretches beyond first position and the first encounter with ornaments such as trills and mordents. The repertoire that fits this range is extensive and spans several centuries.
Core Repertoire for Intermediate Classical Guitar Players
Fernando Sor — Op. 6 Studies and Op. 29 Studies
Fernando Sor (1778–1839) composed the most systematically useful study collections in the entire classical guitar canon. His Op. 6 set of twelve studies covers a wide range of technical problems — arpeggios, slurs, scale passages, and voice independence — within a musical framework that rewards careful listening. These are not dry exercises: each study has a distinct character and a clear formal structure.
His Op. 29 studies are somewhat more demanding and introduce more complex right-hand patterns and wider position spans. Both collections remain standard intermediate-level material in conservatoires worldwide. Andres Segovia's influential selection of twenty studies drawn from various Sor opera (including Op. 6 and Op. 29) is widely used, though any complete Urtext edition from a reliable publisher gives the best access to the full sets.
These works are in the public domain and are freely available on IMSLP (the Petrucci Music Library at imslp.org), which holds multiple historical editions. Werner Guitar Editions also offers clean, fingered modern editions specifically prepared for guitar students.
Francisco Tárrega — Lágrima and Capricho Árabe
Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909) is the central figure in the transition from the classical to the modern guitar tradition. Two of his pieces are particularly important at the intermediate level.
Lágrima (Teardrop) is a short prelude in E major and E minor that demonstrates Tárrega's characteristic approach to melodic line over a transparent accompaniment. Its emotional directness and compact form make it an ideal introduction to his style. The technical demands — smooth position shifts, expressive vibrato, control of tone colour between thumb and fingers — are well within the intermediate range.
Capricho Árabe is a more substantial work, a serenata in a free fantasia form that draws on the Moorish musical heritage of southern Spain. It introduces compound metre, ornamental flourishes, and a wider dynamic range than Lágrima. A solid Grade 6 to Grade 7 piece, it rewards slow, sectional practice and repays study of recordings by players such as John Williams and Andrés Segovia, both of whom recorded it on multiple occasions.
Both pieces are in the public domain and available via IMSLP. Tárrega published most of his compositions himself and did not use opus numbers consistently, so edition quality varies. The Chanterelle Verlag editions and the Ricordi collections are reliable choices.
Agustín Barrios Mangoré — Vals Op. 8 No. 3 and No. 4
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885–1944) was a Paraguayan composer and guitarist who combined Romantic harmonic language with virtuosic guitar writing. His Vals Op. 8 — a set of waltzes — sits comfortably in the upper intermediate range. Nos. 3 and 4 from this set are the most frequently studied.
The Vals pieces develop the player's ability to sustain a singing melodic line against an accompaniment, to manage position shifts across the neck smoothly, and to project a waltz lilt without mechanical counting. They are technically approachable but musically rich, which makes them useful recital pieces at the intermediate stage.
Barrios's works are mostly out of copyright, and several of the Vals are available on IMSLP. The Euphonon editions and Las Vegas Guitar Archive editions are considered among the most reliable for performance use.
Johann Sebastian Bach — Bourrée in E Minor BWV 996
The Bourrée in E minor is the final movement of Bach's Lute Suite in E minor BWV 996, and it has become one of the most widely played intermediate classical guitar pieces in existence. Its two-voice texture — a clear melodic line in the upper register against a bass line that implies harmonic movement — is both musically satisfying and technically instructive.
From a technique standpoint, the Bourrée demands clean alternation in the right hand, accurate position shifts in the left, and the ability to balance two independent voices simultaneously. It also introduces the player to Baroque ornamental conventions, though ornaments can be simplified or deferred until the player is comfortable with the piece's basic text.
BWV 996 is in the public domain. The standard guitar editions by Segovia, John Williams (Schott), and Rafael Andia (Eschig) each reflect different editorial approaches to ornamentation and fingering. Comparing two or three editions is a useful exercise in itself.
For broader context on the classical guitar repertoire and its historical development, see our overview of famous classical guitar pieces.
Mauro Giuliani — Studies Op. 1 and Op. 48
Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829) was the leading guitarist-composer of the early nineteenth century in Vienna and wrote systematically for the instrument across all levels of difficulty. His 120 Studies for the Right Hand Op. 1 — often used in a reduced selection of 30 or 50 — are the standard foundation for developing right-hand arpeggio technique on classical guitar. Each study isolates a specific pattern and varies the left-hand chord progressions to keep the musical context changing.
His Op. 48 set of studies is somewhat more advanced and introduces melodic work alongside the arpeggios. Together, Op. 1 and Op. 48 form a complete systematic right-hand curriculum that complements the left-hand focus of the Sor studies mentioned above.
All Giuliani studies are public domain and available on IMSLP in multiple editions.
Matteo Carcassi — 25 Melodic and Progressive Studies Op. 60
Matteo Carcassi (1792–1853) wrote one of the most enduring method books for classical guitar, and his Op. 60 studies remain a fixture of intermediate curricula. The twenty-five studies in this collection are genuinely melodic — they function as musical pieces, not only as finger exercises — and they cover a carefully graduated range of technical demands.
Early studies in the set introduce basic scale and arpeggio patterns in first position; later studies move into higher positions and introduce more complex rhythmic figures. The collection is organised so that each piece builds directly on the skills introduced in the previous one, making it well suited to a structured practice plan.
Op. 60 is in the public domain and freely available on IMSLP. The Schott and Ricordi editions both include useful fingerings.
Isaac Albéniz — Granada (arr. for Guitar)
Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909) composed Granada as the opening piece of his piano suite Suite española Op. 47. It has been transcribed for classical guitar in several versions, of which the Segovia transcription is the most widely used. Granada is a serenata — a stylised night-serenade — and its flowing triplet accompaniment pattern beneath a Spanish-inflected melody places it firmly in the upper intermediate range.
The technical demands include sustaining a melody against a constant arpeggiated background, managing a wide dynamic range, and executing position changes at musical phrase boundaries rather than at technically convenient moments. It is a piece that rewards expressive work once the notes are under the fingers.
Note that because the Segovia arrangement is still under copyright in many jurisdictions, it is not freely available on IMSLP. The standard performing edition is published by Schott. Several other freely available transcriptions exist, with varying quality of fingering.
Graded Method Books for Systematic Progress
Carcassi Complete Method
Carcassi's complete method, of which Op. 60 forms the final section, begins with fundamental right- and left-hand technique and proceeds systematically through scales, chords, and repertoire. It remains one of the most coherent single-volume methods for the intermediate player who wants a structured approach alongside individual pieces.
Giuliani — Rossiniana and Progressive Works
Beyond the studies, Giuliani's series of progressive sonatinas and variations provide intermediate repertoire with a clear formal structure and a manageable technical ceiling. His Grand Overture Op. 61 represents a natural goal at the top of the intermediate range.
Abel Carlevaro — Serie Didáctica
Abel Carlevaro (1916–2001) was a Uruguayan guitarist and pedagogue who developed a systematic approach to classical guitar technique based on biomechanical principles. His Serie Didáctica is a four-volume set of studies that addresses specific technical problems — right-hand position, left-hand independence, slurs, scales — in a highly methodical way. Carlevaro's approach differs from nineteenth-century methods in its explicit attention to physical efficiency and tension reduction. Advanced intermediate players who encounter recurring technical problems benefit particularly from his approach.
Free Sheet Music Sources for Intermediate Players
IMSLP — Petrucci Music Library
IMSLP (imslp.org) is the largest freely available repository of public domain sheet music in the world. For classical guitar, it holds a substantial catalogue including all the works mentioned in this article that are out of copyright — Sor, Tárrega, Barrios (most works), Giuliani, Carcassi, Bach, and Albéniz piano originals. Multiple historical editions are available for most major works, which allows comparison of different editorial approaches to fingering and ornamentation.
IMSLP is structured by composer and work, and the copyright status of each file is clearly indicated. Files are provided in PDF format and are free to download.
Werner Guitar Editions
Werner Guitar Editions is a dedicated classical guitar sheet music publisher that offers a range of editions at low cost or free, specifically prepared for modern guitar students. The editions are cleanly engraved and include considered fingerings. This makes them a reliable alternative to the sometimes difficult-to-read historical editions available on IMSLP.
How to Find the Right Edition
For public domain works, the choice of edition matters more than is often appreciated. Key factors to consider:
- Fingering quality: Good fingerings distribute the technical demands of a passage evenly across both hands and support natural phrase shaping. Poorly considered fingerings create unnecessary tension.
- Notation clarity: Well-engraved editions space notes consistently, use clear beam groupings, and distinguish voices in multi-voice passages without ambiguity.
- Editorial transparency: Reliable editions distinguish between the composer's original markings and the editor's additions — for example, marking editorial fingerings in brackets or italics.
- Performance notes: Good editions include brief commentary on stylistic context, ornamentation conventions, and practice suggestions.
For copyright works such as the Segovia transcription of Granada or the Barrios editions from Euphonon, the authorised published edition is the only reliable source.
Structuring Your Practice with Intermediate Repertoire
Once you have selected appropriate sheet music, the way you approach learning a new piece determines how much you benefit from it technically and musically.
First Pass — Reading and Analysis
Before playing a new piece, spend time reading through the score. Identify the formal structure, the key centres, and the main technical challenges. Mark passages that will require dedicated attention. If recordings are available — and for all the pieces listed here, professional recordings exist — listen to two or three interpretations to establish a musical goal before beginning physical practice.
Sectional Practice
Divide the piece into sections of four to eight bars and work each section in isolation before connecting them. Within each section, identify the single most challenging bar and begin there rather than at the beginning. This prevents the common pattern in which early sections become secure while later sections remain unlearned.
Metronome Use
Practise new passages at a tempo at which every note is accurate and every position shift is controlled. This is typically far slower than the eventual performance tempo. Increase the metronome setting in small increments — two to four beats per minute — only when the current tempo is genuinely comfortable. Rushing tempo development is the most common cause of ingrained technical errors.
Voice Separation
In multi-voice passages — particularly in Bach and in Sor — practise each voice independently before combining them. This clarifies the harmonic and contrapuntal logic of the passage and ensures that each voice receives appropriate weight in the combined texture.
Dynamic and Tonal Work
Once notes and rhythms are secure, begin working on dynamics, tone colour, and phrasing. On the classical guitar, tone colour is primarily controlled by right-hand position relative to the soundhole — playing closer to the bridge produces a brighter, more penetrating tone; playing over the soundhole produces a warmer, rounder sound. Intermediate players who develop conscious control of this variable have a significant expressive advantage.
For a broader perspective on how long the learning process takes at different stages, see our guide on how long it takes to learn classical guitar.
The Role of the Instrument in Intermediate Playing
Sheet music and practice method are only two variables in intermediate progress. The instrument itself is a third. A guitar with poor intonation, high action, or a thin, compressed tone makes it significantly harder to develop the listening skills that intermediate repertoire demands. Classical guitarists at this level benefit from an instrument built to professional or near-professional specifications, even if they are not yet performing publicly.
The choice between a spruce-top and a cedar-top instrument affects tone colour in ways that are particularly relevant to the repertoire discussed here. Spruce tops tend to produce a brighter, more articulate sound that suits Bach and the Classical-period composers; cedar tops typically have a warmer initial response and suit the Romantic Spanish repertoire of Tárrega and Barrios. For a detailed comparison, see our article on spruce vs cedar classical guitars.
If you are considering upgrading your instrument at the intermediate stage, our full range of classical guitars includes instruments suited to players at every level from advanced student to professional concert use.
Great Players Who Defined This Repertoire
The pieces discussed in this article were shaped by the players who championed them. Andrés Segovia made the Sor studies and the Tárrega pieces central to the twentieth-century classical guitar curriculum. John Williams has recorded the Bach lute suites and the Albéniz transcriptions in authoritative versions. Narciso Yepes recorded the complete Tárrega catalogue. David Russell's recordings of Barrios remain widely studied for their combination of technical clarity and musical depth.
Listening to these players — critically, with score in hand — is as much a part of intermediate study as the physical practice itself. For an overview of the major figures in classical guitar history, see our guide to great classical guitarists.
Intermediate Sheet Music and Long-Term Repertoire Building
The intermediate stage is not a fixed destination but a range of development. The works described here — Sor Op. 6, Tárrega's Lágrima and Capricho Árabe, Barrios Vals Op. 8, Bach BWV 996, Giuliani Op. 1, Carcassi Op. 60, and the Albéniz Granada transcription — span the full Grade 5 to Grade 7 range and collectively address every major technical area that separates intermediate from advanced playing.
Working through even a portion of this repertoire with the structured approach described above will develop right-hand arpeggio technique, left-hand independence, position shifting, tone control, dynamic range, and basic contrapuntal thinking. These are the foundations on which all advanced classical guitar playing is built.
For players who want to understand the broader landscape of classical guitar repertoire beyond the intermediate stage, our article on famous classical guitar pieces covers the major works from the Renaissance to the present day.
