Great sources for piano sheet music on the web
You have fallen I love with a song and want to find sheet music for it. Fantastic, but where do you go to find it? Although most music stores have a wide variety of sheet music available, you may be out of luck if your choice is more obscure. And if your song is older, it will be harder to find there. Where do you go, then? Here are a few great online resources where virtually the entire world of sheet music is open to you.
Sheetmusicplus.com
This site boasts over a million songbooks, scores, and tabs. Virtually every instrument is represented here. You can order books and sheets which ship out of their warehouse within 24 hours. There are also many direct downloads of songs available.
Musicnotes.com
This website has had over 5 million customers, and it’s easy to see why. You can download sheet music within seconds of purchase and start playing immediately! There are over 300,000 tunes available. Most songs are offered in their original key, but even better, most selections allow you to transpose the notes to another key if you desire that. Try doing that with “hard-copy” sheet music! Songs start as low as $2.95.
In addition to the sheet music, the site also offers professional playing tips and recommendations based on what songs you have looked at and/or purchased.
Onlinesheetmusic.com
This easy-to-navigate website offers more than 150,000 songs, sorted by instrument. You can also easily get music for bands and ensembles as well as instructional materials. There are even some free selections available.
Freesheetmusic.net
If you are just starting to play, on a budget, and just need some non-copyrighted songs to work with, this site will be perfect for you. Classical works, Christmas carols, Irish dance music — if something like that suits your fancy, there’s a great chance you will find it here.
J W Pepper Sheet Music
In business since 1876, this store is a great resource for sheet music of all kinds. With their large selection of music for individual instruments, bands, orchestras, and ensembles, you should be easily able to find what you are looking for. jwpepper.com
Ebay
We can’t forget this one! Looking for that one-hit-wonder bubblegum song from the ‘70s, or a particular songbook that music stores no longer offer? This is the perfect place to look.
Amazon
What started off as nothing more than an online bookstore has become the source for virtually anything you would want or need to purchase, and sheet music is no exception here. Type a song or songbook title in here and you’re bound to find it!
A word on ethics
We all know that there are websites and apps that allow you to download and print copyrighted sheet music for free. If you look hard enough, you will find them. We don’t recommend this. The talented men and women who compose these works depend on the royalties from these works for their income. Taking their income away is theft, plain and simple. Remember the Golden Rule!
If this is not enough motivation, then consider this: in order not to be sued (repeatedly), the distributors of such stolen works must fundamentally change something about the product. Do you want to learn a song only to find out that the key, main hook, bass line, or even lyrics are totally wrong?
There is a vast array of reputable resources available. Have fun finding those obscure items from Bach to Bieber.
