Wedding Music – Free Sheet Music and TABs for Classical Guitar
Music is a big part of special events. And the music can make a wedding ceremony memorable and emotional. Acoustic guitar music is a popular choice for a wedding day. It’s intimate and sensual, like the event itself.
Below you’ll find many beautiful wedding songs and arrangements. These are guitar pieces and arrangements that work especially well for wedding ceremonies.
Wedding and Ceremony Music for Classical Guitar
Beginner Wedding Music
Early-Intermediate Wedding Music
- Anonymous – Spanish Romance
- Bach, JS – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
- Beethoven, Ludwig van – Für Elise
- Brahms, Johannes – Lullaby (solo)
- Mendelssohn, Felix – Wedding March
- Pachelbel, Johann – Canon in D
- Satie, Erik – Gnossienne No. 1
- Satie, Erik – Gymnopedie No. 1
- Schubert, Franz – Lullaby with Tremolo
Intermediate Wedding Music
- Anonymous – Spanish Romance
- Anonymous – Spanish Romance with Tremolo
- Bach, J.S. – Sleepers Awake
- Bach, J.S. – Prelude in C Major
- Bach, JS – Arioso
- Bach, JS – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
- Bach, JS – Air on the G String
- Bach, JS – Bourree in Em
- Bach, JS – BWV 1007 Prelude
- Barrios, Augustin – Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios
- Handel, G.F. – Air
- Mendelssohn, Felix – Wedding March
- Pachelbel, Johann – Canon in D
- Satie, Erik – Gymnopedie No. 1
- Schubert, Franz – Ave Maria
- Schubert, Franz – Ave Maria (with tremolo)
- Strauss Jr., Johann – On The Beautiful Blue Danube
- Tarrega, Francisco – Capricho Arabe
- Wagner, Richard – Bridal Chorus
Advanced Wedding Music
Click here for the Full Free Sheet Music Collection
Tips for Playing Wedding Guitar Music
It is a joy and an honor to play music on someone’s wedding day. All the more if you have a personal relationship with the couple.
You can prepare to provide the best addition to the experience for all the guests. In service to this, here are some tips for playing at weddings.
Be prepared with your music.
Over-practice. If you are not used to playing for large crowds in adverse situations, mistakes can lead to more mistakes. Instead, know your music extremely well. Record yourself playing several times in the days leading up to the wedding day. Play the pieces as if in performance–a single run-through, no do-overs.
For best results, choose songs or arrangements within your current ability level. We don’t rise to the occasion, we sink to the level of our training. It’s better to play simple music well than difficult music poorly.
Likewise, make sure you have all the music and equipment you need before leaving the house. Double and triple-check everything on the day of the wedding.
Arrive early.
Give yourself plenty of time to set up your gear and get ready. Ideally, you are completely set up well before you start playing.
If you are playing music while people are getting seated, have time for a break before this. You can also test your sound and meet with the event coordinator to learn your cues and directions.
Prepare for possible problems.
It helps to prepare for the worst, even though you can expect the best. To this end, it’s nice to have an extra extension cord, extra strings, and a light-hearted attitude.
If you are playing outside, the wind can blow your music away (bring clips). And in strong winds, your music stand could topple.
Bright sunlight can create a glare on your sheet music or can make it difficult to see. Likewise, the sun on your guitar may affect the tuning.
Insects may land on you. Your chair may sink in soft earth. It may begin to rain.
You may lose your line of sight to the wedding party. Your sightline may change when people fill the area, especially when standing. This can affect your cues and signals.
Spring and Fall weddings may get cold. And summer weddings may get hot. If you need to sit in the weather, it may help to have some long underwear or sweat pads (small towels or tissues to stick in your pits so you don’t sweat through your clothes).
Think of as many potential problems, and do whatever you can to prevent and prepare for them. If they happen, you’ve already rehearsed your response and it won’t seem as big of an issue.
Turn off your phone.
A phone call or alarm while you’re playing can be embarrassing and distracting. Avoid this by silencing your phone beforehand.
While you’re not playing, you can take pictures of the wedding ceremony. Often, the guitar is in a unique position with a view unlike anyone else.
You can have the acoustic guitar or music stand in the frame for a lovely picture. You can then share this with the wedding couple or post it on social media.
Dress well.
As a member of the wedding ceremony, you reflect on the bride and groom. So be on your best behavior and look as good as you can. It is very hard for the musician to overdress for most weddings.
To this end, have a fresh haircut. Iron all your clothes, Shine your shoes. Trim and clean your fingernails. Details matter.
And you can also dress your guitar well. Clip the ends of strings at the tuning keys. Polish the front of your guitar.
The wedding photographer will takes high-quality pictures of you. So make sure they fit into the wedding album as well as possible.
Smile – It’s a happy event.
Try to keep a gentle expression on your face. This is a special day, and the music is just one small part of it. Any expressions of pain or disappointment can dampen the spirits of the guests.
Keep your eyes soft. This makes you look better, and it lowers stress. If anything goes wrong (a mistake, technical issue, etc.), shrug it off. It’s better to remain calm and keep the mood light.
Hi, I’m Allen Mathews.
I started as a folk guitarist, then fell in love with classical guitar in my 20’s. Despite a lot of practice and schooling, I still couldn’t get my music to flow well. I struggled with excess tension. My music sounded forced. And my hands and body were often sore. I got frustrated, and couldn’t see the way forward. Then, over the next decade, I studied with two other stellar teachers – one focused on the technical movements, and one on the musical (he was a concert pianist). In time, I came to discover a new set of formulas and movements. These brought new life and vitality to my practice. Now I help guitarists find more comfort and flow in their music, so they play more beautifully.
Click here for a sample formula.
This is the ideal starting position for me. As a relative beginner with no teacher this is helping me enormously in developing good technique and not falling into bad habits. I no longer feel (A) That it's a struggle to learn a new piece and (B) That I am alone in my endeavors. My advice is to try The Woodshed program. It is fantastic and will not only bring up your playing but his explanations of musical concepts as you go along put things into perspective.
~ John Andersson
-John Andersson
These warm-up and stretching exercises are helping me a lot! Because I’m a software developer I have to stay 8 hours typing on a computer keyboard, so I use my hands a lot during the day. At night, when I have some time to practice the guitar my hands and arms are usually in pain because they have been working a lot during the day, but I’ve found that doing the warm-up/stretching exercises in The Woodshed releases me from this pain and I’m then able to practice after doing them.
You are building a very interesting and working guitar course, because for what I’ve seen so far it really works!
~ Ulysses Alexandre Alves
-Ulysses Alexandre Alves
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