Reference

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Citing

The SRJC Library does not collect sheet music, and there is no open collection of sheet music in the Music Department on campus either. However, the Sonoma County Library offers the following types of printed music in its Central (downtown Santa Rosa) branch. NOTE: Most of their printed music is not listed in the Sonoma County Library catalog; you will have to go to the Sonoma County Central Library and look in the file cabinets yourself.

The Sonoma County Central Library collection includes:

• 16 file cabinet drawers of printed music, mostly in book form (for example, collections of piano pieces) rather than individual pieces of music
• Within the file cabinets, the music books are arranged in broad categories, such as Popular Music, Classical Music, Chamber Music, Strings--Classical, Strings--Popular, Woodwind instruments, Piano, Violin, Guitar, etc.
• Vocal music includes a Song File--individual songs. These cannot be checked out, but you may make one photocopy for personal use.
• Some opera librettos and scores are listed in the Library’s online catalog and can be checked out.

This research guide highlights some sources for researching music scores and locating sheet music online. Consult with a Reference librarian for further assistance or for help in locating the information needed.

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and Handbooks
The following Reference Sources should be helpful in locating background information:

Encyclopedia selections to go here

Access databases from: SRJC Articles & Databases http://www.santarosa.edu/library/ftdb. Off campus access requires a user name and PIN number. Apply for a PIN.

Web Resources      Top
The following selected websites should be helpful in finding information:

Choral Public Domain Library: www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
“Begun in December 1998, CPDL is one of the world’s largest free sheet music sites. You can use CPDL to find scores, texts, translations, and information about composers.”

Sibley Music Library Online Scores: https://urresearch.rochester.edu/handle/1802/292
“Scores and books in the public domain. Many of these are unique to the Sibley Music Library collection.”

American Musicological Society. WWW Sites of Interest to Musicologists: www.ams-net.org/musicology_www.php#ACI
Many of the websites listed contain links to free sheet music available online, especially in the section Music Libraries, Archives and Online Catalogues.

UC Santa Barbara Library. Music Research: www.library.ucsb.edu/subjects/music/musi.html
See the section Online Scores.

Variations-Online Musical Scores: www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores
“...Selections lead[ing] to experimental prototypes of the ways in which musical scores and recording liner notes might be used in conjunction with sound recordings available online through VARIATIONS. . Due to the early developmental status of this phase of VARIATIONS, unable to guarantee continued availability of this resource or any of its components.”

Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music: levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu
“Over 29,000 pieces of American popular music . from 1780-1980..[I]ts strength is its thorough documentation of nineteenth-century America through popular music. The collection is especially strong in the music spawned by military conflicts from the War of 1812 through WWI, and minstrel music is also well-represented.”

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