Your home for The Beatles sheet music, piano songbooks, and guitar tabs.

If you’ve done a Google search for “Beatles sheet music”, you may be confused with which of the many optons to buy. There are big books containing song collections; single songs printed on a few pages, chord books, guitar tablature, and countless other options. Before you get overwhelmed, take a deep breath and realize that the type of Beatles sheet music you’re looking for is out there. The Beatles are one of the most popular groups of all time, and their music has probably been transcribed and packaged in exactly the way you want. You just have to find it.

Types of Sheet Music

The first thing to understand before buying Beatles sheet music is what types of notation products are out there.
Sheet music—Music notation that is printed on unbound sheets of paper. For example, a four page lead sheet for the Beatles song “Yesterday”.
Multi-song collections—A group of songs printed in book form, often grouped by artist and/or album. For example, a guitar tablature book of every Beatles song from the Beatles 1 (one) album.
Guitar tablature–A way of notating guitar parts to indicate how a particular Beatles song is to be played using letters, symbols, or other visual cues instead of standard notation. For example, guitar tablature usually consists of a diagram of the six strings with finger positions indicated by numerals corresponding to the appropriate frets. Guitarists prefer this style of notation, because it is much easier to read than standard notation.
Chord books—A way of notating guitar parts for musicians who just want to strum along with the chords of the song. Often Beatles chord books are less exact, but more accessible to beginners.

Where Will You Play The Beatles Songs?

Next, you’ll want to think about how you’ll be using the sheet music. Will you be memorizing the piece to perform it live? If so, you can handle a big (maybe even bulky) collection/book of Beatles songs that will sit on your music stand in your practice area as you learn each nuance of the Beatles guitar parts. The best Beatles collection for this use is The Beatles – Complete Scores. It’s a large three-inch thick book that contains every Beatles song, with each instrument fully notated–including guitar tablature. It would be great for learning every note of a Beatles song as it was played, because it contains exact transcriptions and tablature of each part. However, it’s way to bulky to take to a gig, so if you aren’t planning on memorizing the piece, you may want to choose a different option.
Will you be playing and singing the song with the sheet music in front of you? If so, a single song of sheet music is ideal. Avoid a songbook because it will tend to close on you while you’re performing. In this case, find the sheet music for the particular Beatles song.
Will you be performing the Beatles song solo, or as a group? If you’re performing with a group, you’ll want to find the notation that is really exact…like the aforementioned The Beatles – Complete Scores. If you’re playing solo, you may want to search out a piano reduction…or guitar arrangement instead.
Finally, if you are a beginner or a songwriter and you want to get a good feel for the songs or an idea of how the Beatles constructed their chord progressions, definitely check out a Beatles chord book. While they are a bit simple and inexact for the performing musician, they let you get some quick insights on how the Beatles constructed their songs…and they let even the most beginning player strum along.

Start Playing Beatles Songs Today!

Whatever the case, make sure you jump in! Playing the Beatles songs on guitar, piano, cello, or whatever instrument is really rewarding, educational, and just plain fun!

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