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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How Scores are Organized
The Music Collection uses Library of Congress Classification, or LCC, for organizing print books and scores on the shelves. Used in libraries worldwide, this system groups items by topic and assigns each a unique alphanumeric call number. Hint: Enter the first part of a call number into OneSearch to see all items in a given section.
Call Numbers for Music Scores:
M1 - 3.3 Collections
M1 Miscellaneous collections
M2 - 2.3 Musical sources
M3 - 3.3 Collected works of individual composers
M3 Complete editions
M3.1 Selections of collected works
M5 - 1480 Instrumental music
M6 - 175.5 One solo instrument
M177 - 990 Two or more solo instruments
M1000 - 1075 Orchestra
M1001 Symphonies
M1003 Suites. Variation forms
M1004.5 - 1041 Solo instrument(s) with orchestra
M1100 - 1160 String orchestra
M1200 - 1270 Band
M1495 - 2199 Vocal music
M1497 - 1998 Secular vocal music
M1500 - 1527.8 Dramatic music --> Opera, musical theatre
M1530 - 1609 Choruses
M1611 - 1624.8 One solo voice
M1627 - 1853 Folk, national, and ethnic music
M1999 - 2199 Sacred vocal music
M2000 - 2007 Dramatic music --> Oratorio
M2010 - 2017.6 Choral services, etc.
M2020 - 2101.5 Choruses
M2115 - 2146 Hymnals. Hymn collections
M2147 - 2188 Liturgy and ritual
About Scholarly Editions
Oxford Music Online defines a scholarly edition as one which is "prepared on the basis of a critical evaluation of all known primary sources [and] designed to present the most authoritative, authentic version of its contents." While the terms "scholarly" edition and "critical" edition are essentially synonymous, they are distinguished from a "practical" or "performance" edition which is meant primarily for the use of the performing musician and might make interpretive adjustments to assist in its usage. In musicological research, it is important to understand which edition you are studying and to seek the scholarly edition when possible.
In the print Music Collection, many scholarly editions can be found in M2 and M3, although these are far from the only places you will find them. According to Library of Congress Classification, M2 corresponds to Musical Sources, including Monuments and various facsimile series, while M3 consists of Collected Works such as the Complete Editions of a single composer. Most M2s and M3s are shelved in Ranges 1 through 5 toward the back of the Music Collection; oversize volumes and miniscores are in Ranges 15 and 16. To learn more about these types of publications and view lists of Music Collection holdings, see the Musical Sources (M2) and Complete Editions (M3) pages elsewhere on this guide.
Finding Scores Online
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.