The Guitar Ensemble Core Catalog is a collection of 190 parts arrangements for steel string guitar ensemble. The Catalog is comprised of sub-collections of Christmas carols, children’s songs, traditional American songs, short compositions by D. L. Stieg, and simple classical pieces, including a volume of Bach Chorales. The music given by these arrangements is similar in kind to the music of a choir or an orchestra. Like a melody, each of the parts of an arrangement is monophonic (one note at a time). In most cases the parts are relatively simple, but when the parts are sounded together, intricate and interesting music in a variety of styles can be created.

The purpose and value of learning to play guitar ensemble music is briefly discussed in the Overview section of the Guitar Ensemble Core Catalog page. Also included in the Overview section is an explanation of the categories of information included in the Catalog listing for each arrangement (number of parts, key, and level of difficulty). The Ordering Options section details the numerous options for ordering from the Catalog. Any of the 190 arrangements can be ordered individually in e-score format, and arrangements can be ordered by the volume either in e-score format or in printed score (PDF) format. The e-scores can also be used to produce printed scores (ensemble scores or part scores), but doing so requires a close familiarity with the printing options available in the TefView Score Reader program.

Apart from the Add to Cart buttons, the Catalog listings are interactive in two important respects. You can click on the audio icon beside the title of any of the 190 arrangements and listen to the entire arrangement in MIDI format. And you can click on the red section title for any of the volumes and read the Introduction to that volume. If you choose to order arrangements individually, the ability to listen to every arrangement beforehand will allow you to select arrangements that you would most like to learn to play, and increase the likelihood of your benefiting from these learning materials.

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