Knowing how to play your favorite song is one huge advantage of being a musician. But even if you’ve been taking drum, guitar, or keyboard lessons in Scottsdale for years, chances are you probably can’t play your favorite tune by listening alone (at least not right away and not without some practice). Luckily, there’s an easier alternative to playing by ear. Enter sheet music!
Sheet music is a musical composition in written or printed form indicating what notes to play, when to play them and for how long. Simply think of sheet music as the roadmap of a song. Follow the roadmap and you’ll learn to master your favorite songs in no time at all! But the big challenge for most musicians after time is not how to play sheet music…it’s where to find it.
Since teaching bass, keyboard and drum lessons in Scottsdale is what we’re all about, Scottsdale Music Academy has its own private hoard of selected sheet music for a variety of different songs and instruments, ranging from piano to guitar, classical to country, and everything in between. But, more importantly, we know the best places to find treasured sheet music…and now, so will you!
Without further ado, here are our top three favorite sites to find sheet music:
1. Online Sheet Music
Although sheet music from OnlineSheetMusic.com isn’t free, your low-cost purchase will get you fully authorized, high quality digital sheet music from artists both past and present. With sheet music from popular soundtracks and from big name musicians in a variety of different genres, you’re guaranteed to find something to pique your interest.
2. Musicnotes.com
Musicnotes.com proudly touts itself as the “world’s largest e-commerce sheet music retailer and publisher,” with over 260,000 pieces of digital sheet music and guitar tablature to date. Similar to OnlineSheetMusic.com, Musicnotes.com has a wide selection of sheet music for purchase. But the cool thing about this site is its limited selection of free sheet music, which changes on a regular basis. With one quick click of a button you can download a practice piece at absolutely no cost to you. Unlike other sites, the free sheet music offered by Musicnotes.com includes contemporary compositions as well as those from past decades.
3. The Mutopia Project
This site is strictly for those interested in classical music. Here you’ll find sheet music by some of the most well-known classical musicians, such as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Handel, Mozart, and more. All sheet music offered by The Mutopia Project is completely free for download and can be printed, copied, and distributed with no repercussions. Searching their collection of over 1900 pieces won’t be a problem due to their advanced search option, which allows users to narrow down the results based on composer, instrument, or both.
Between these three resources, you’re sure to find sheet music to almost any song, symphony or show tune. Practice with your favorite sheet music on your own or bring it to your next guitar, voice, or keyboard lesson in Scottsdale and perform it for our instructors. Either way, practicing with sheet music you actually enjoy will help get you out of a musical rut, push you to expand your skills, and allow you to show off for friends and family.
Now finding quality sheet music will never be an issue again…but figuring out what to play first will be!