Classical Guitar  Sheet Music

Sheet music here is in standard notation (no tab) and is presented with the permission of the copyright holders. Many of these pieces are available with accompanying midis, which may be found on the Classical and Flamenco Guitar MIDIS page. I hope you enjoy the music!

Flight of the Bumblee - By Rimsky-Korsakov

Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 - Page 5 - Page 6 - Bumblebee MIDI file

I arranged this piece to provide fun single-string chromatic scales to practice. This intention is evident in the fingerings, which place many of the phrases on a single string rather than on two or more strings. It also explains why there are no chords in this arrangement.

While most guitarists will not be able to play this arrangement at a tempo normally associated with Flight of the Bumblebee (quarter-notes @ 150-180), it still sounds pretty good at slower speeds if played with sufficient conviction and personality.

I like to play this piece primarily with alternating m-i rest strokes and very few slurs. However, you can play it with whatever fingerings and articulations you like. The given fingerings are not presented as ideal solutions; rather, they are offered as a starting point.

This arrangement is also available in PDF format. If you want to see how the PDF version looks, here is the first page of the PDF arrangement: bb1.pdf.

You can buy the entire PDF file for $2.00, using a credit card or PayPal. Just click on this link -- http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id=135937  -- and a checkout form will appear. Fill it out, click the button, and you will be given a link where you can download the file. It's easy!

I Vow to Thee My Country 

Music by Gustav Holst, words by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice.

Also familiar as "Jupiter's Theme" from Holst's The Planets, this patriotic British hymn was sung at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and, tragically, also at her funeral at the request of her son, Prince William.

My first arrangement of this music, a few days after the funeral of Princess Diana, was based on having heard and loved Holst's The Planets for most of my life. After more research into the piece, I learned that Holst later turned his "Jupiter's Theme" into a tune called Thaxted, named after in a church a village in Essex, England, for which Holst was the music director. Holst's Thaxted, along with its lyrics -- the poem I Vow To Thee My Country by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice -- may be found in the book Hymns Ancient and Modern:

I Vow To Thee, My Country

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love:
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

This arrangement is dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.

This version of Jesu is not too difficult, consisting mainly of the melody and the bass. It doesn't contain much "musical cornstarch" -- extra notes to thicken it up.
(Please note: Measure 24 should be omitted. Thanks to Ron Jhu for pointing out the error. I will fix it very soon.)