The 9th KEPMA Cup Acoustic Guitar Competition in 2026
Every guitar lover is a light chaser, constantly moving forward on the road of music. KEPMA will accompany you and witness every breakthrough and bloom you have!
Match time
Preliminary Round·OnlineJuly 1st - August 20th
Semifinals·OnlineSeptember 1st - October 15th
Finals·OfflineOctober 28 · Shanghai
About KEPMA Cup
Since its establishment in 2018, KEPMA Cup has been held for 8 consecutive sessions. From the initial gathering of love, As more and more players are seen here, KEPMA Cup always hopes to do one thing: Provide an authentic, professional and open display stage for acoustic guitar enthusiasts.
Whether you are just starting to play the piano or you already have a mature playing style; whether you like fingerstyle, I am still used to singing my own story with the guitar. As long as you are willing to express it, you can stand here. This year, we continue to wait for your voice.
Participating categories
Fingerstyle Division
Mainly pure guitar playing, no vocals included. If you are used to using melody, rhythm, technique and arrangement to complete your expression, Fingerstyle Division is your stage.
Singing & Guitar Division
Mainly playing and singing by himself, with guitar accompaniment and singing together to complete the work. If you prefer to sing about your emotions, Use guitar to carry stories, Singing & Guitar Division welcomes you to join.
Schedule
Competition rules
The complete "2026 Ninth KEPMA Cup Competition Regulations" has been released, including scoring details, award settings, participation agreements, etc.
Download Charter PDFCompetition judges
This competition will invite a number of professional musicians, guitarists and industry guests to participate in the judging. This is not only a competition, but also an opportunity to communicate with professional musicians, outstanding players and guitar enthusiasts across the country.
Current judges
Young fingerstyle player·Music educator
One of the outstanding young fingerstyle performers in China, he has been deeply engaged in fingerstyle performance, teaching and creation for a long time. He has released albums such as "Untitled" and "Don't Forget Your Original Intention", and published many fingerstyle guitar tutorials.
Event rewards
Registration channels
Domestic players can register to participate in the event through online registration or offline stores; overseas players can submit registration forms and entries through the overseas registration channel.
Event updates
Competition-related announcements, registration notices, promotion lists, judges information, work release and Finals arrangements will be updated here one after another. Please continue to pay attention to the latest official updates.
Competition registration, participating groups, competition schedule and related rules have been released one after another. Acoustic guitar enthusiasts are welcome to pay attention and participate.
check the detailsDomestic online registration, offline registration points and registration methods for overseas players will be announced one after another. Please choose the appropriate registration channel according to your own situation.
View how to registerAfter the Qualifying Round review is completed, the list of Semifinals qualified contestants will be announced through the official channels of the event. Contestants are requested to continue to pay attention to the latest announcements.
Stay tunedQualifying Round work release, Semifinals promotion list, Finals arrangements, winners list and other contents will be continuously updated according to the progress of the competition.
Continue to pay attentionFAQ
Regarding registration, competition, competition schedule and submission of works, all your concerns are here.
You can follow and participate in the competition preparation, but this competition has Fingerstyle Division and Singing & Guitar Division. Entries need to complete a 3-5 minute complete performance or playing and singing video. Therefore, it is recommended that enthusiasts with a certain foundation of acoustic guitar playing register to participate. Users with no basic knowledge can first pay attention to the official event information, demonstration videos and follow-up event arrangements to prepare for subsequent competitions.
Can't. Successful registration is subject to submission of the registration form. Once submitted, the registration form cannot be modified, and the same IP is only allowed to be submitted once. Therefore, please fully practice the entry repertoire before submitting the registration, complete the recording of the work carefully, and confirm that the information is correct before submitting the registration form.
This competition takes the form of "online submission + offline Finals". The Qualifying Round and Semifinals stages are mainly based on submission, release and review of participating videos; Finals will be held offline at the Bandai Namco Cultural and Art Center in Shanghai on October 28.
Can't. Contestants can only choose one category to participate in. If there are two entries for the same player, the final result will be the one with the lower score.
need. Domestic online contestants need to record the competition video as required and publish it to the designated platform in the prescribed format. After adding the designated topic of the event, copy the video link, fill out the registration form and upload it. Domestic offline players can go to the local KEPMA Guitars dealer store to record, and the store will publish it to the Douyin platform. Overseas contestants need to record their own entries and send the registration form and entries to the official email address of the competition via email.
Different stages have different requirements. In the Qualifying Round stage, competition-specific guitars will be provided at offline registration points, and players do not need to prepare them by themselves. In the Semifinals stage, domestic players are required to use the designated guitar to record the competition video. Overseas players are not restricted to using KEPMA Guitars. In the Finals stage, contestants must use the competition-specific guitar provided by the organizer.
In the Semifinals stage, domestic players need to use the designated guitar to record the competition video. Players who register online can obtain the competition-specific piano through the "Guitar Rafting Activity"; players who register offline can obtain the competition-specific piano through the registration point.
Additional filing is not supported. The registration and work submission period for this Qualifying Round is from July 1st to August 20th. Contestants are required to complete the registration form submission and upload their works within the specified time. After the registration deadline, the organizing committee will no longer accept additional applications. Please arrange the recording and submission time in advance.
For the competition results and promotion list, it is recommended to pay attention to the KEPMA Guitars official WeChat public account, KEPMA Guitars official website and the official follow-up notice of the event. If the event schedule is subject to adjustment, please refer to the latest official announcement.
You can obtain the latest event information and consultation methods through the KEPMA Guitars official WeChat account and official website. The official website is www.kepmaguitar.com. Registration and work submissions for overseas players can be sent to the official email of the competition:margot@kepmaguitar.com。
