Finding Old Musical Sources - RISM is Online!

Great News from RISM!

If you research or play music from earlier times, you'll know how important it is to see the sources that our forebears composed, published and played from.  

Nowadays, the first problem is locating these materials!

For printed publications, we have Copac (British national and universities combined ('union') catalogue.  There's also WorldCat, which pulls together library holdings particularly from the USA and the UK, regardless of public or academic affiliation.

But there's nothing quite like the fabulous RISM, the Online Catalogue of Musical Sources that locates printed and manuscript music from worldwide locations.  It was a really useful resource when it was just a series of printed books, but now the free RISM Online Catalog offers online access to series A/I, A/II, and years 1500-1550 of B/I.  (See the RISM Publications page to understand precisely what is in the various series!)

Type keywords or a composer into the search box and see what you find - details of the publication, and where copies can be found.

Free Scores for RCS Music Students!

Okay, everyone knows about IMSLP, otherwise known as the Petrucci Music Library.  It's free.  (Check that you're not breaching copyright in the country where you live).

http://imslp.org/

If you're a university or conservatoire music student, your library may well subscribe to additional, premium, services offering you more "free" music.  (The library pays, so patrons don't have to.)

FREE SCORES FOR RCS MUSIC STUDENTS!

Get music free online through Alexander Street Press Classical Scores Library - if you’re off-campus, you’ll need to login first.  

Classical Scores Library, Volume I* (part of the MOP collection)

Classical Scores Library, Volume II* (part of the MOP collection)

Alternatively, if you search the whole Alexander Street Press music database, you’ll find videos, recordings AND these scores.  Start here, selecting the music drop-down before you search:-

 http://search.alexanderstreet.com/ 

Look down the side to single out videos, audio or scores.

MORE FREE SCORES TO DOWNLOAD ON-CAMPUS

Download sheet music from LibraryMusicSource (on-campus only):  

http://www.librarymusicsource.com/  

ESSAY TO WRITE?  COPY EXCERPTS FROM THESE SCORES!

Use your computer’s “snipping tool” to copy little excerpts for musical examples to back up your arguments or illustrate what you're describing.