Find Scores
Finding Scores in OneSearch
Use OneSearch to find printed music in the Music Collection:
Printed music and books are located in the "Music Collection," which is part of Education, Music and Media on the Lower Level West. Use OneSearch on the Libraries' main page to find scores. Start with keywords including a composer, title, or number:
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| From the preliminary results, you can check facets like "Library Catalog" to narrow results. You can then select formats under Content Types including "Music Score": |
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For individual songs, arias, and other shorter selections, be sure to check the Contents field under Details to confirm that a song is included in a larger anthology or collection. You will likely need to pull the physical item from the shelves to determine the key signature.
Classification and Call Numbers
The Music Collection at University Libraries uses Library of Congress Classification, or LCC, for organizing scores on the shelves. This system, maintained by the national library of the United States and utilized by libraries across the country and around the world, groups together scores by genre, form, and instrumentation. Each item is then assigned a unique call number which combines alphabetical and numerical characters. These features are designed to make browsing library collections easier for users and librarians alike. Tip: Enter the first part of a call number into OneSearch to see all items in a given section.
Call Numbers for Vocal Music:
M1495 Collections
M1497 - 1998 Secular vocal music
M1500 - 1527.8 Dramatic music --> Opera, musical theatre
M1500 Orchestral scores
M1503 Vocal scores. Chorus scores
M1505 - 1508 Excerpts. Anthologies
M1530 - 1609 Choruses
M1611 - 1624.8 One solo voice --> Songs
M1619 Anthologies. Two or more composers
M1620 Anthologies. One composer
M1621 Separate works. Song cycles
M1627 - 1853 Folk, national, and ethnic music
M1670 - 1671 African American music --> Spirituals
M1999 - 2199 Sacred vocal music
M2000 - 2007 Dramatic music --> Oratorio
M2010 - 2017.6 Choral services, etc.
M2010 - 2014 Masses. Requiems
M2020 - 2101.5 Choruses
M2115 - 2146 Hymnals. Hymn collections
M2147 - 2188 Liturgy and ritual
Online Scores
Most of the following websites offer sheet music in .pdf format. For additional websites containing digitized manuscripts, see the Musical Sources (M2) page.
- Ball State University Digital Media Repository: Sheet Music Collection Over 1500 individual sheet music songs from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Boosey & Hawkes Online Scores Online perusal of this publisher's scores. The format does not permit downloading.
- Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL) Most of the scores are in .pdf format and some have source files in Finale, Sibelius, etc. Also includes texts and translations
- CPDL Solo Vocal Music Solo Vocal Music at the Choral Public Domain Library.
- Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music (DIAMM) Indexes medieval music manuscripts available on the web
- Eastman School of Music, Sibley Music Library: Musical Scores The University of Rochester catalog provides links to scores uploaded by the Sibley Library which may not yet have been added to IMSLP.
- Hofmeister XIX Hofmeister XIX is an online, searchable version of the Hofmeister Monatsberichte for the years 1829 to 1900. Containing some 330,000 records of music publications, this database is the most extensive resource for establishing what was published where and when during that period. Records are linked to facsimile images of the Monatsberichte on the Austrian National Library website.
- Hymnary.org Index and scans of major hymnals, most in English
- IMSLP / Petrucci Sheet Music Library Classical music in the public domain (no longer in copyright)
- Juilliard School of Music Manuscript Collection Includes some printed music with corrections or notes written by the composer (for example, Copland's Appalachian Spring)
- Music Online: Classical Scores Library (from Alexander Street) From the publisher Alexander Street, Music Online: Classical Scores Library provides digital access to a collection of scores from more than 4,600 composers from all eras of music. This collection in five volumes includes a wide variety of genres and instruments. Users can zoom in on scores to examine notations and tempo markings. Scores can be printed for class or personal study.
- Partifi Make orchestral parts from a score, including scores in IMSLP
- Project Gutenberg Sheet Music Project A few scores, mainly in .pdf format but some are in Finale.
- ScorSer: Search System for Musicians Searches seven online sheet music databases simultaneously.
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.