Research Guides: *Music Research: Scores

Scores in Print

Use this guide to find scores in the Music Library's stacks.

M is for Scores! This classification guide from the Library of Congress directs you towards physical scores for individual instrumentation, vocal scores and ensembles.

Digital Scores

Library Collections - Digital score collections made available by libraries and archives. Freely available on the web, these are mostly digital versions of manuscripts and sheet music collections.

Web Resources - Scores made available by organizations not affiliated with a school, library or archives. Most of this is published music that is in the public domain (pre 1923).

Databases - Score collections as part of larger online "e resource" databases. (See "Music Databases A-Z" tab.)

Library & Archive Collections

Cambridge Digital Library - Music This library is notable in particular for its lute manuscripts copied by Mathew Holmes in the early years of the seventeenth century.
DIAMM - Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music A collaboration of the University of Oxford and Royal Holloway and the University of London, DIAMM has created an electronic archive of more than 14,000 images.
Early Music Online This project has digitized 300 of the world’s earliest surviving volumes of printed music, using copies in the British Library, and has made these freely available online
IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana A search and discovery system for accessing sheet music from the Indiana University Lilly Library, the Indiana State Library, the Indiana State Museum, and the Indiana Historical Society.
Juilliard Manuscript Collection Collection of 140 items including manuscripts, sketches and first editions.
The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music Johns Hopkins University's large online sheet music collection is particularly strong in American popular music of the 19th century.
Loeb Music Library Digital Scores and Libretti Harvard University's collection of rare music materials
Morgan Library Music Manuscripts Online More than 900 music manuscripts are available from the Morgan Library & Museum's world class collection
Sibley Digital Scores From the Siblely Library of the Eastman School of Music
University of Washington Music Library Digital Scores Collection The majority of the collection is comprised of 17th and 18th century operas, opera excerpts, and other vocal music

Web Resources

Art Song Central Art Song Central is principally an archive and directory of free, printable sheet music for singers and voice teachers. An emphasis is placed on standard classical and traditional repertoire.
IMSLP Over 40,000 works by more than 6000 composers
NMA Online The entire Neue Mozart-Ausgabe in digital form
List of Online Digital Musical Document Libraries Wikipedia's handy list of digital score collections