Inexpensive way to get sheet music
February 13th, 2008There are a number of online sheet music stores, like Music Notes.com and Sheet Music Direct, that have a huge collection of sheet music for anything from classical to the latest hits.
These sites do not sell hardcopies, but sheet music in digital form. When you buy a digital copy, you pay for the right to print the sheet music (once). You will need to install a special plug-in for your browser to make this work.
The advantage of using these sites is that it’s relatively cheap to get a piece of music, and you can transpose it to another key before you print. So if the music is in the key of Ab, but you’d rather play it in C, you can transpose it up by 4 half-steps and then print it. Try doing that with a hardcopy!
If you’re a real cheapskate, then here’s a trick: You can usually view the first page of the piece for free in your web browser.
You can transpose this page to a more convenient key if necessary, print it out, and even listen to it online.
Often, the first page already contains the entire A-section (or the verse) of the song. This is a great way to get started on figuring out a piece, for free!