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.

Classical Scores Library This link opens in a new window
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.
Choral Wiki
Public domain choral and vocal scores, texts, translations, and more.
Art Song Central
Archive and directory of free, printable public domain sheet music (primarily classical/traditional) for singers and voice teachers.
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.
Score Follower
Freely available recording+score videos of contemporary compositions. Copyright-compliant.
Online Resources for Music Scholars: Scores
Sources for freely available digital scores. List maintained by Harvard University music librarians.

Tools & Resources

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

Find Scores at the PARC

Search the library catalog to find available music scores at the Performing Arts Resource Center (PARC):

Limit your search to Reed Library using the pull-down menu to the right of the search bar. To find materials available to request from other institutions, select Reed + Summit.
Filter your results further using the Scores facet under Resource Type in 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 Grove Music Online to 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.

To add back post-covid

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.