LibGuides: Music: Scores

Online Scores

Be sure to also check out the resources on the Primary & Historical Sources page for additional score and manuscript collections.

Art Song Central
Archive and directory of free, printable public domain sheet music (primarily classical/traditional) for singers and voice teachers.
Choral Wiki
Public domain choral and vocal scores, texts, translations, and more.

Classical Scores Library
Music Online: Classical Scores Library is a series of four volumes with a mission to provide a reliable and authoritative source for scores of the classical canon, as well as a resource for the discovery of lesser-known contemporary works.

International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Freely available scores and sheet music; most in the public domain. All scores include a copyright note, so you can check status easily if needed.
Musopen
Public domain sheet music, as well as some recordings and textbooks, available for download.
Online Resources for Music Scholars: Scores
Sources for freely available digital scores. List maintained by Harvard University music librarians.
Score Follower
Freely available recording+score videos of contemporary compositions. Copyright-compliant.
Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music
Scores and books from Eastman’s collection that are in the public domain.
Variations Project at Indiana University
Select public domain scores used in Indiana University’s now-defunct Variations prototype program.

Tools & Resources

Music copyright guide from Indiana University
Information and guidance related to using scores for performances, both within and beyond educational settings.
Partifi
Tool that enables the creation of parts from full scores uploaded from a PDF or imported from IMSLP.

Find Scores at the PARC

Search the Performing Arts Resource Center (PARC) website to find available music scores:

Enter your keywords or subject in the search bar on the PARC website
Filter your results by selecting scores under Resource Type facet on the left sidebar of your search results

Finding vocal music:

If you're looking for a particular aria, song from a musical, pop song, etc., search for the song title using a keyword search rather than a title search.

Finding instrumental music:

Start with a keyword search rather than a title search, and include any unique identifiers such as an opus or Köchel number.

Advanced Tips

Use the Grove Music Online website to help identify the definitive title of the work you're looking for.
Every entry for an individual composer includes a list of that composer's complete works (in the entry, look at the bottom of the left sidebar for Works).
This is where you can find the most authoritative version of the title for a given work.

Use Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music, by Anna Harriet Heyer, to find music published in anthologies.
We have this in PARC Books, ML113. H52 1980.
The contents of large anthologies of music, such as the complete works of a composer, are not always listed in library catalogs; Heyer's book lists the contents of these large anthologies.
Start with v.1.
If the composer you're looking for is not listed in v.1, look him or her up in v.2. V.2 indexes the contents of anthologies that contain music by multiple composers; a listing for your composer in v.2 will point you to the correct listing in v.1.