Finding Scores in Online Databases
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All of the resources shown in this video are available to Western students, staff and faculty and can be accessed through the Western Libraries website or library catalogue. Licensed, online resources can be accessed from off-campus. You will need to log in with your Western ID and password.
Western Libraries has a very rich, thorough, deep collection of musical scores. Some of these are available online.
To find these, go to the Music Library's homepage www.lib.uwo.ca/music Click on "Finding Music" and then click on "Online Sheet Music Resources." Some of these online scores databases are library-licensed, meaning that we have a subscription to them. Music Online: Classical Scores Library is one example.
Here's Music Online: Classical Scores Library. If you are off-campus, you'll need to log in with your UWO user ID and password.
Searching online scores databases can be tricky. We recommend you use the Advanced Search in Music Online: Classical Scores Library. In this case we'll search for the terms violin concerto in the composition field and Mendelssohn in the composer field.
From here you can either view the entire score, or print it out. See our "Search Terms for Finding Music" video for more tips. https://youtu.be/6TNbXpRo56Y
Some online scores databases are free. Many of these are listed on our "Sheet Music" page. https://www.lib.uwo.ca/music/sheet.html Some online scores databases are user-pay. For example Schubertline or SheetMusicPlus. Check with the Music Library before you pay money for a score.
Most citation styles aren't very clear on how to cite music sources. See Indiana University Bloomington's "A Guide for Music Citation - Chicago/Turabian Style" for advice. https://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/c.php?g=516265&p=3529690
These tips can help you, but finding music can be extremely tricky. If you've spent 10 minutes searching and still haven't found what you're after, ask us for help! We can be reached by email musref at uwo.ca, by phone 519-661-3913 or in person in the Music Library. You can contact me, Dan Sich, the Teaching and Learning Librarian covering Music, at dsich2 at uwo.ca or Brian McMillan, Head of the Music Library, at bmcmill2 at uwo.ca.
Western Libraries Music Library: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/music
