LibGuides: Music Resources : Scores

Searching for Scores

Start in LibSearch- Advanced Search

Type the name of the score in the search box
Change Material Type dropdown to "Score"
Tweak your results further by using the filters on the left

Finding Scores on the Shelf

Where to look in the Library

Scores are on the 4th floor of the BU Library. Look at the map at the bottom of the stairs for the exact location.

Score Call Numbers

Scores start either with M, MM, ML, or MT. On the shelf, the "M" call numbers come first, and are ordered from low to high based on the number after the M.

For example, the following call numbers are ordered from first to last:

M2 .C642 no. 1 (Chamber duets by Antonio Cesti)
M22 .B11 k59 (Bach's Goldberg Variations)
M177 . S395 B7 (Schubert chamber music)

Don't worry about what the numbers mean, just note that they are ordered from low (M2) to high (M177)

Online Score and Sheet Music Collections

International Music Score Library Project
Over 90,000 works are represented in this collection, which gathers material that is in the public domain.
Amazing Grace: Some early tunes
Dr. Mark Rhoads of Bethel University has compiled a site tracing the history of the hymn "Amazing Grace" and the early tunes which would have accompanied the hymn at the time of its writing.
Anthology of American Hymn Tune Repertory
A collection of digitized hymns from American hymnbooks "from the period between the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620 and the mid-19th century." This collection is presented by Bethel University's Dr. Mark Rhoads. Includes scans of preface material from the source hymnbooks.
Digital Scores and Libretti (Harvard)
Harvard's Loeb Music Library aims to "digitize scores and libretti selected for their rare or unique natures and their popularity as objects of research and teaching."
Eastman School of Music Digital Scores
A collection of digital scores from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music
Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection (Johns Hopkins)
From Johns Hopkins University, the collection "spans the years 1780 to 1980, but its strength is its throrough documentation of nineteenth-century America through popular music."
Morgan Museum Manuscripts Online
From the website, "The goal of the Music Manuscripts Online project has been to create and to provide online access to high-quality images and descriptions of music manuscripts owned by The Morgan Library & Museum."
Singing the Songs of Zion: Soldiers' Hymn Collections and the Hymn Singing in the American Civil War
An extensive look at the place of hymns in the lives of Civil War soldiers. This site includes an article, a catalog of hymn collections, and an extensive index of which hymns appear in which collections. This website was created by Dr. Mark Rhoads of Bethel University.
Templeton Digital Sheet Music Collection (Miss. State U)
A collection of American songs, with focus on the following genres: Ragtime, blues, movie tunes, foxtrots, popular music, show tunes, Irving Berlin songs, and war songs.