Most orchestras, bands, choruses, glee clubs, and individual musicians find sheet music helpful when learning unfamiliar music. There are some rare individuals who can learn to play an instrument or a piece of music by ear, but the majority need sheet music at the start of the learning process.

Online sheet music providers and directories offer sheet music in a variety of formats. You will be able to purchase or obtain sheet music for free for download, or place an order to have hard copy sheet music mailed to you.

1. Sheet music is available by type of instrument, such as woodwind, piano or brass.

2. Sheet music can be located by genre or composer name, such as New Age or Beethoven.

3. Sheet music can be found by type of composition, such as quartet.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Search through a free sheet music directory

A great resource to find sheet music is to search a music directory that contains a large selection of sheet music for a variety of instruments. There are many free sheet music directories for you to search.

I recommend: Free-Scores has a large directly of free sheet music downloads for various instruments. Find Free Sheet Music offers sheet music downloads for a variety of instruments including bagpipe and accordion.

Keep your options open by purchasing sheet music

Free sheet music directories have their place, but if you are seeking popular or copyrighted material, you will probably have to purchase it. The more you know about the sheet music you are seeking, the better chances you have of finding it. Knowing the title of the composition is a good start, but if you also know the genre, publisher or record label, your search options increase.

I recommend: Sheet Music Plus offers sheet music list searches by artist, song name, composer, composition and instrument. The site provides easy access to what you find, for a fee. Sheet Music Now is a directory of links to various music websites which offer sheet music for purchase and download. You can search by type of artist, publisher and even record label.

Locate a sheet music provider for a genre of music

Large directories of sheet music are helpful when you have varying requirements for your musical needs. If you are focused on a particular genre of music, searching a directory of music of that genre may be more rewarding. You might discover pieces you were unaware of at the start.

I recommend: The Psalms Christian Music Directory gives you the option to search for sheet music by Psalm number, name, or, if you don't know either, you can search by word or phrase to find the sheet music you need. Search the online Chappell directory of sheet music by genre to find what you need.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Instrument stores or music schools are great resources for sheet music information. Locate a place that offers musical lessons and you may find a starting point for tracking down the sheet music you need.