Rules: This competition, aimed at intermediate-level amateurs, takes place online on the “Delcamp Classical Guitar Forum”. The 3 compulsory pieces are by Jean-François Delcamp. The competition comprises three phases running from February 1 to February 28, 2026. In each phase, candidates publish their YouTube video of a compulsory piece. Adult guitarists of all nationalities, registered on the Delcamp Classical Guitar Forum, can take part in the competition. Guitarists who have already won a prize in the Delcamp International Guitar Competition are not eligible to enter a second time.
Registration: If you haven’t already done so, register for the English-language forum , then request your registration for the next competition session by posting a message in reply to this thread. Registration is free. Registration for the competition closes on October 31, 2025 . If there are fewer than 20 registrants by the close of registration on October 31, 2025, the competition will be postponed to the following year, with the same program, so that the candidates’ investment is not lost. Write your registration message for the next competition as follows: “Hello everyone, I’m an adult and I’m entering the 2026 session of the Delcamp International Guitar Competition. Candidates for the eliminatory and semi-final rounds may register on the forum under a pseudonym, or under their real first and last names. If one of the contest entrants changes his or her mind and withdraws from the contest, I ask him or her to let me know. So that, on October 31, 2025, I have the exact number of registrants to validate, or postpone, the organization of the next competition session. On February 20, all finalists must, if necessary, accept their username change in order to display their real first and last names as forum members. If a finalist refuses to display their real first and last names, they will not be able to compete in the final.
How to record YouTube videos of the competition’s compulsory pieces: Candidates must ensure that their videos show the full vibrating length of their guitar strings (from the nut to the bridge). The videos must be filmed in a fixed shot, with no camera movement. For the first two rounds (eliminatory and semi-final), candidates’ faces may be visible, masked, blurred or hidden. For the final, the candidates’ faces must be visible, as well as the full vibrating length of their guitar strings. If the framing hides, permanently or momentarily, part of the vibrating length of the strings, the video is invalidated. YouTube videos entered in the competition must be public, visible to all. Private or unlisted videos will not be accepted. Only recordings made from the editions indicated are accepted. Transposed versions, or recordings made from other editions, will be invalidated. Tempos and fingerings are free.
The 3 compulsory pieces: Download the PDF of the 3 compulsory pieces , in two versions: on staves and on tablature.
Elimination rounds : Candidates must publish their video of the compulsory piece during a 72-hour period, between February 1 at 0:00 GMT and February 3 at 24:00 GMT. For the elimination round, each contestant must post on the contest’s English-language forum a message containing the link to the URL of their YouTube video, preceded by the words: “Hello everyone, here’s my YouTube video recording, showing the full vibrating length of my guitar strings. My video recording is made without any tricks or editing.” The following piece is to be recorded for the eliminatory: J. F. Delcamp : Rue des trois frères opus 6 – éditions Delcamp . The results of this eliminatory will be published on February 10.
Semi-final : Candidates must publish their video of the compulsory piece during a 72-hour period, between February 10 at 0:00 GMT and February 12 at 24:00 GMT. For the semi-final, each contestant must post a message on the contest forum containing the link to the URL of their YouTube video, preceded by the words: “Hello everyone, here is my YouTube video recording, showing the full vibrating length of my guitar strings. My recording is made without any tricks or editing.” The following piece is to be recorded for the semi-final: J. F. Delcamp : Prélude opus 40 – éditions Delcamp . The results of this semi-final will be published on February 19.
Final : Candidates must publish their video of the compulsory piece during a 72-hour period, between February 20 at 0:00 GMT and February 22 at 24:00 GMT). For the final, each contestant must post a message on the contest forum containing links to the URLs of his or her YouTube videos, preceded by this formula: “Hello everyone, my name is …………… …………, here is my YouTube video recording, showing the full vibrating length of my guitar strings. My face is visible. My recording is made without any tricks or editing.” The following piece is to be recorded for the final: J. F. Delcamp : Valse des mésanges opus 10 – éditions Delcamp . The results of this final will be published on February 28. The three winners guarantee that their 3 competition videos will remain public on their YouTube channel for a period of 3 years. Failing that, Jean-François Delcamp will post a copy of the winning videos on his own YouTube channel, where they will no longer be public.
Prizes awarded to the 3 contest winners
The competition jury is chaired by Jean-François Delcamp. The jury’s decisions are final. The three prizes awarded are: 1st prize €700 – 2nd prize €600 – 3rd prize €500. The jury does not award tied prizes. The prizes will be paid to the winners by bank transfer after the winners have sent the administrator a private message including their IBAN (International Bank Account Number), or any other reference enabling them to receive a bank transfer from France. For one year, the 3 contest winners will be featured on the 3 Delcamp forums: French-speaking forum , Italian-speaking forum , English-speaking forum .
Jean-François Delcamp
