For January 2010, we are featuring a free piano sheet music download of the WALTZ FOR PIANO OP. 39, NO 15 in Ab composed by Johannes Brahms.

This particular waltz is part of a collection of works that were composed by Brahms in the mid-to-late 1800s. The pieces are often referred to as the Hungarian Dances and this particular waltz is one of the most popular and the easiest to play in the collection.

This month’s free Guitar Guru Session and guitar tab is the tango entitled EL CHOCLO. Composed by A. G. Villodo in the late 1800s, EL CHOCLO was the “first” published tango. Translated to “The Corn,” this tango was first published in Argentina, and later published with lyrics which are not included in our version.

When you download your free Guitar Guru Session of EL CHOCLO, you will also be able to print out the guitar tab for the song as well. If you enjoy Guitar Guru, be sure to take advantage of our twenty-five percent off sale! On average, you will save about $1.74 per Session.

We hope you enjoy January’s free sheet music downloads. Be sure to stay tuned for next month when we highlight our free sheet music for February.

For our piano/vocal/guitar arrangement, we’re providing you with a medley of two Christmas carols. We blended STILL, STILL, STILL and THE HOLLY AND THE IVY into a beautiful Christmas song for you to play or sing.

Composed in 1819, STILL, STILL, STILL is a traditional Christmas carol that was originally published in German. THE HOLLY AND THE IVY is an older traditional Christmas carol that was published as a “broadside” in the early 1700s. Combined, the two carols together create a Christmas Christian sheet music medley that we hope you’ll enjoy singing and playing. Partial lyrics are provided in this arrangement. Your free piano sheet music download is available through December 31st.

We continue our special Christmas free guitar tab and Guitar Guru Session arrangements with another piece from Tchaikovsky. This month, enjoy a free Guitar Guru Session and corresponding guitar tab of WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS.

This month’s classical composition was composed by Tchaikovsky for THE NUTCRACKER BALLET. WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS was composed as part of the ballet in the early 1890s. The waltz has a fantastical, airy feel to it and is fun to play.

Your free download of WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS includes an interactive Guitar Guru Session plus free printable guitar tab, and is available through December 31st.

Click here to download your free sheet music.

Want MORE? Free Christmas Sheet Music Download with any Purchase!

If you enjoy our monthly free sheet music download, you may be interested to know that for a limited time only we are offering you the chance to get an additional FREE Christmas song with any purchase on Musicnotes.com.

For more details, visit our Free Christmas Sheet Music Download with Purchase page. You only have until midnight, December 6th to qualify for your additional free sheet music download, so be sure to take advantage of this offer that’s worth approximately $5.00!

For our free piano sheet music download, we are featuring a holiday medley of the songs Jolly Old St. Nicholas and Up on the Housetop.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas is a traditional Christmas carol that may have been composed in the early 1900s. The simple lyrics are about someone wishing for St. Nick to come and leave them presents in their stockings. Up on the Housetop (Ho! Ho! Ho!) is an older traditional Christmas carol from the 1860s. Composed by Benjamin Hanby, this popular tune is also about Santa coming down the chimney to fill the stockings of little kids with presents. Combined, the two carols together create a fun, holiday medley that we hope you’ll enjoy singing and playing.

This holiday medley is available as a free sheet music download from now until the end of November. We have provided abridged lyrics as part of the medley, so you can sing our arrangement as a solo or with your family and friends!

Guitar Guru Lovers! Download the Russian Dance for Free!

This month’s free Guitar Guru Session and guitar tab, is a movement from The Nutcracker Suite composed by Tchaikovsky. The Russian Dance, which is also known as Trepak, was composed as part of the ballet in the early 1890s.

Now you can learn how to play the Russian Dance from The Nutcracker Ballet on guitar for free, through the month of November. Simply visit our free sheet music page to download this seasonal arrangement. We hope you enjoy it!

New Songs from YOUR Requests!

We have been hard at work adding a ton of new songs that you’ve asked for. First, we’d like to point out that we are expanding our selection of alternate instruments solos. This week, we added a ton of popular flute sheet music solos by some of your favorite artists. We’ve also added quite a few fun songs for guitar, including new guitar tab by Taylor Swift.

Here are some new songs we’ve added from the songs that you’ve requested:

• For Emma by Bon Iver
• Chances by Five for Fighting
• I Know It’s Today by Jeanine Tesori
• Guitar Guru Session for Cold as Ice by Foreigner
• So This Is Love by Cinderella
• Does It Still McFly? by Michael Giacchino and other songs from the new STAR TREK.
• Come Back to Me by David Cook
• Haven’t Met You Yet by Michael Buble

Contest News! Guitar Guru Headset Give-a-Way and New Contest!

For the month of November, be sure to check out our Suggest a Winter Holiday Song Contest for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Musicnotes.com!

We’ve contacted our Guitar Guru headset winner for October’s contest. Thank you to everyone who entered for a chance to win.

Until next time, remember… practice really does make perfect!

Even though he only wrote less than a hundred pieces for the guitar, the short compositions are enjoyed by many guitarists. Within the music world, many consider Tarrega to be an important founding figure for the classical guitar genre. Other works by Tarrega include how most famous work, RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA, and LAGRIMA, a popular guitar tab for beginners.

Your free download of ESTUDIO BRILLANTE includes an interactive Guitar Guru Session plus free printable guitar tab, and is available through October 31st.

Download your free guitar tab and Guitar Guru Session for ESTUDIO BRILLANT today. For more recommendations on classical pieces for guitar, we recommend browsing our selection of classical guitar tab.

Guitar Guru Headset Give-A-Way (for PC)

From now until the end of October, comment on this blog post for your chance to win a Guitar Guru headset. To enter, all you have to do is comment below telling us about the song that you had the most fun learning how to play.

What can you do with your Guitar Guru headset? From learning how to play songs from The Beatles Rock Band to our new features in Guitar Guru 3.0, a headset enhances your overall guitar song learning experience. Guitar Guru features voice command functionality for the PC, so using a headset allows you to keep your hands on your guitar while you’re learning how to play your song. We tested a bunch of different headsets for Guitar Guru yet one stood out among all the brands we tested. This Plantronics headset offers noise-canceling, excellent sound quality, and has a retail value of $24.95.

Be sure to comment on this post for your chance to win! Contest ends midnight on October 31st. Limited to one entry per customer. One lucky winner will be contacted via email by November 2nd, 2009, so be sure to provide a valid email address in the comment field. We respect your privacy, and will not use your email address for any other purpose than this contest.

A very challenging piece to master due to its construction and “slide” technique, download free piano sheet music for KITTEN ON THE KEYS from now until October 31st. (Please note that we are offering a different song for guitar this month.)

If you enjoy ragtime music, you might love to play or sing some of these other lighthearted songs:

• Dizzy Fingers also composed by “Zez” Confrey
• The Entertainer
• Ragtime
• Tiger Rag
• Puttin’ On The Ritz
• Reflection Rag
• Maple Leaf Rag
• The Bethena Rag
• Happy Days Are Here Again
• Yes, Sir! That’s My Baby

For more suggestions on ragtime songs, we recommend checking out our selection of Scott Joplin sheet music to help you get some ideas.

The lyrics (which are included below) describe the story of two adult characters named “Nellie” and “Joe,” who take a nostalgic look back at their time in school during the late 1800s. Some of the lyrics shine a light on a much different period of education. For example, a hickory stick was used to discipline kids back in those days, whereas that would never be permitted in today’s educational system.

Fans of music from this era might recognize some other songs by Gus Edwards, who composed School Days. “In My Merry Oldsmobile” and “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon” are two of his most beloved songs.

Click here to get free sheet music for School Days through September 30th.

Lyrics for “School Days”

VERSE 1
Nothing to do, Nellie Darling
Nothing to do you say
Let’s take a trip on memory’s ship
Back to the bygone days
Sail to the old village school house
Anchor outside the school door
Look in and see
There’s you and there’s me
A couple of kids once more

REFRAIN
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate
“I love you, so”
When we were a couple of kids

VERSE 2
‘Member the hill Nellie Darling
And the oak tree that grew on its brow
They’ve built forty storeys
Upon that old hill
And the oak’s an old chestnut now
‘Member the meadows so green, dear
So fragrant with clover and maize
Into new city lots
And preferred business plots
They’ve cut them up since those days

REFRAIN
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days.
Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate
“I love you, so”
When we were a couple of kids

Now through midnight on September 2, 2009, visitors to Musicnotes.com can download a free, interactive Guitar Lesson (including matching guitar tab that’s worth $7.95) for “Over the Rainbow.” This particular arrangement was arranged by Grammy award-winning artist Aaron Stang, from Alfred Music Publishing to match the performance recorded by Les Paul and Chet Atkins and featured on the album, ‘Masters of the Guitar – Together.’

“Les Paul closed every show at the legendary jazz club Iridium in New York City with an instrumental version of this song,” said Tim Reiland, Chairman of Musicnotes.com. “This song has a very emotional meaning for musicians everywhere.”

In lieu of payment, Musicnotes and Alfred Music Publishing encourage users who choose to download the song to send donations to the Les Paul Foundation, 236 W. 30th St., Seventh Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001.

The free download is available online at http://www.musicnotes.com/free (now through midnight, September 2, 2009). Be sure to watch a video of Les Paul playing Over the Rainbow on YouTube!.

This song is so popular you can find it in most collections of children’s songs. It’s most popular version was sung by Harry Belafonte and Odetta. “There’s a Hole in My Bucket” was originally sung in German and, according to Wikipedia, has roots in the early 1700s.

In August, enjoy your free download of sheet music for There’s a Hole in my Bucket. A full set of verses is provided for you with the guitar tab and the piano sheet music for the song. Enjoy this month’s free sheet music!

Download Free Sheet Music for There’s a Hole in My Bucket through August 31st..

Lyrics for “Hole in My Bucket”

While there are several variations of lyrics for this song, here are the lyrics available through our free sheet music download for August.

There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole.
Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, then fix it.

With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, with what?
With some straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With some straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, some straw.

The straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it.

With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?
With an axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With an axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, an axe.

The axe is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The axe is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it.

With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what?
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone.

The stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry.
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, then wet it.

With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what?
Try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, try water.

From where shall I get it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
From where shall I get it, dear Liza, from where?
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry, the well.

In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, in what?
In a bucket dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
In a bucket dear Henry, dear Henry, in a bucket.

There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole.