Finding Sheet Music Online

While tabs are a great way to get started playing music, oftentimes you’ll need sheet music to truly learn a song. This is especially true for classical music, as well as some popular music.

Unfortunately, sheet music isn’t always free. Most modern music - for our purposes we’re talking 1923 and onward - is under copyright, so you’ll need to purchase it in order to legally use it for any reason. If an artist has released his or her work into the public domain then you’re all set, but artists working for a record label probably won’t be doing that.

Fortunately, most classical music was created before 1923, so you can find these *ahem* “classics” for free online.

Free Sheet Music Online

Check out IMSLP.org if you’re looking for free sheet classical music online. IMSLP has a ridiculous breadth of offerings - we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of scores - in the realm of free online sheet music. Volunteers maintain the scores in a wiki-style manner, and the arrangements are done pretty well, especially since you’re getting free sheet music. A major bonus here is that many of the songs listed also come with recordings linked, so you can get the visual and audio in one place. As long as you’re looking for a classical song, IMSLP.org is your best bet for free sheet music online.

Another option for free sheet music is SheetMusicMaestro.com, which is a specific niche site. It offers free online sheet music, but only in the Early American sheet music category. It’s easy to use, however, and especially helpful for those looking for free sheet music for folk music of that era.

Sheet Music Online (For A Fee)

There are two great options for paid online sheet music. SheetMusicPlus.com (pictured above) and MusicNotes.com have the goods, if you’re looking to pay for the sheet music you need. In both cases you have the chance to peruse their exhaustive lists and even check out the first few bars of your song for free. After that, though, you’ll need to break out your wallet. SheetMusicPlus and MusicNotes aren’t free, but they do provide you with high quality sheet music online.

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